AOT Revolution
by King Seeker
Summary: Eren Yeager finds himself in a world similar to his own but different in many ways. A world where he previously didn't exist. A world where no one recognizes him. How will he deal with it. And why can't he remember how he got there in the first place?
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER-1**

 **Awake**

 **Note:I don't own any of the character in this story**

* * *

Eren woke up, panting. He was in a room which seemed awfully familiar, but he couldn't put a finger on his location.

For the moment, he shoved the thought out of his mind and brooded over his nightmare.

 _The memory was already fading away, but Eren recalled fighting a single monster, while a legion of Titans watched them. This monster was different. He wasn't like a typical titan. For one thing, he was bigger then Eren's form, and his skin had a greenish-blue hue. He was also much stronger than an average Titan and incredibly fast._

 _Eren remembered killing the titan in the end, while suffering great wounds in the process and then kneeling down, his hands covered in the titan's blue blood._

 _But that wasn't the end of it. The rest of the titans charged towards him, as if they had broken through some sort of invisible barrier and overwhelmed him in a matter of seconds._

Eren pulled himself back to reality. It was a dream after all, and not something he should take seriously.

He looked at his room again.

" _Why am I not in the scouting legions dormitory? What am I doing here?_ "

He stood up. " _Something is wrong. I can feel it."_

He walked up to a cupboard and opened it.

Instantly, he was buried under a pile of books.

' _Shit! I hope no one heard me.'_

He stood up and started putting them back inside.

One of the books caught his attention.

"The Titan-killers: The men behind the masks." was what the title said.

He quickly browsed through the contents.

It was a story about a group of soldiers who helped save people from titans and maintained peace within the walls.

Eren snorted. It sounded like a bed-time story people would tell their kids. Not something he would be particularly interested in.

He shut the book and saw a photograph fall out . He knelt and picked it up.

It was a picture of a family of four, smiling at the camera. Eren could tell that they were having the time of their lives.

But he felt pain well up in his chest as he recalled the time when his mom and dad were still with him.

Eren had never really thought much about them at the time, but when he lost them, he had realized that they had left a gaping hole in his life, something that could never be filled.

 _'Well, at least Mikasa's still with me...'_

He kept all the books inside and stepped out of the bedroom.

"It's nice to see that you are feeling better, dear"

Eren jumped back, momentarily alarmed.

He spotted an old lady gazing at him, a warm smile on her face.

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" Eren asked her tentatively.

The lady's smile vanished. "We don't exactly know each other son, but I have been nursing you to health for the past few days. Are you feeling alright?"

"I.. I can't remember how I ended up here. What happened to me. Why-"

The lady pushed him into a chair with remarkable strength for a person of her age.

She pulled another one and sat down, facing Eren. It was obvious that she was very concerned.

"Son, what is your name?"

Eren hesitated, then replied "Eren- Eren Yeagar"

"Well Eren, All I know is this- My son, Joe found you limping on the streets in the middle of night- bruised, weak and badly injured. He was the one who found you here. He's a member of the survey corps you see..." She seemed very proud about the last part.

Eren perked up "Oh! I'm a member of the survey corps too!"

The lady laughed.

"Come now, you're too young to be a member of the Survey Corps.!"

"I'm telling you the truth! " Eren insisted.

"But it's dangerous for a child!"

"Grandma, I may seem like a child to you but I've had my share of near-death experiences..." Eren replied, though he wasn't sure why he was opening up so much to the old lady.

"The titans took something away from me. I joined the Survey Corps so that I could ensure that they didn't snatch the hopes and dreams of others too. I..I believe that we have the right to freedom and we should be ready to fight to protect it."

"Well said!"

A Person had just entered. He was tall with black hair and a huge grin. Eren recognized him from the photograph.

The person turned to the old lady.

"Hello, mom"

"What a surprise, Joe! Didn't you have some urgent work to do?" the lady asked him.

Joe grimaced "Yeah, I did.. but I wanted to check on you and this guy."

He offered his hand to Eren who took it enthusiastically.

"Joe Dunn"

"Eren Yeagar"

"So, are you feeling better now?" Joe asked him.

"Yes, much better" Eren replied.

"But I'm guessing you don't have any idea what happened to you,huh? You were very confused when I first saw you."

Eren looked down, feeling uncomfortable. "I... I have no idea. But maybe my friends would know..."

Joe's mother interrupted. "Joe, He says he's a member of the Survey corps."

Joe's eyes widened."You are? So that's why you were giving mom a lecture about the titans."

Eren grinned. "Yep!"

He stood up and brushed his pants. "Anyway, I think I need to go now. I wasn't supposed to be here in the first place. The others will be looking for me."

Joe's mom was worried. "But you were badly hurt. Are you sure you want to leave so soon?"

Joe intervened. "Relax mom! He seems like a tough one. He'll be alright."

Joe's mom considered this.

Finally, she sighed."Alright, but he's going to have breakfast with us and then Joe, you're going escort him there."

Joe seemed fine with that.

Eren wanted to protest, but Joe's mom gave him a stern look which said " _You don't have a choice about this_ ".

After he had a hearty meal, he was ready to go. Joe's mom bid farewell to him.

"And remember to visit me frequently!" she told him.

Eren grinned. "Sure, thanks for helping. It means a lot to me!"

Joe's mom smiled as Eren and Joe walked away.

* * *

Joe yawned.

Eren could tell that he was tired.

"You look exhausted" he said.

Joe grimaced. "It's nothing. But it's become a bit tough lately, with a human transforming into a titan and what not?"

Eren kept mum. He didn't say anything about the matter as he didn't really want to reveal much about himself.

Joe stared at him.

"Eren, I don't seem to recognize you though I've seen several members of the Survey Corps.'

Eren shrugged. Honestly, he felt that it was a dumb question.

"Well, there are a lot of people in the Survey Corps."

"uh-huh"

"However, I was one of the top 10 soldiers in the 104th trainee squad." Eren continued

Joe froze. He stopped in his tracks and looked at Eren, giving him a sense of foreboding.

He waited for a moment. Then he spoke.

"You're lying."

Eren was taken aback. "No I'm not! Why would I be lying about something like this?"

"I don't know" Joe replied "But you're lying just the same".

Eren was getting angry now.

"Joe, I don't know why you're acting like this, but do you have any solid reason for accusing me?" He demanded.

Joe looked at him straight in the eye.

"Yes"

"And what's that?"

"I was a member of the 104th trainee squad myself." Joe said without a trace of humor in his voice.

* * *

 **Well that's chapter-1,folks. Please review,constructive criticism is appreciated. See ya in the next chapter!  
**


	2. No one knows me?

**Chapter-2:**

 **No one knows me?**

 **Note:I don't own any of the characters in this story.**

* * *

They kept walking even though they had still not resolved the issue.

Joe probably thought that Eren was up to some mischief.

Eren was waiting to find someone he knew, so he could convince Joe .

"Eren, is there something you're not telling me?" Joe asked him for the umpteenth time.

He didn't reply.

After they had gone a bit further, He was relieved to finally see someone he knew.

It was Hannes.

Eren ran up to him.

"Hey Hannes! How's it going?" He asked.

Hannes looked at him with a kind smile. "I'm sorry. Do I know you?"

Eren froze. Something was wrong.

"Umm.. no, but I've seen you quite a few times here, so I thought I'd say hello." Eren lied.

" _Is he pulling my leg, does he actually not recognize me?"_

Joe went up to Hannes and they started talking.

Eren on the other hand, was struggling to cope with the situation. He was absolutely sure that something was really, really wrong.

 _"What am I going to do?"_

But he felt his spine tingle and a wave of calmness wash over him. It felt as if something was forcing him to remain cool.

He took a deep breath.

" _Ok, I'm going to change my approach until I see someone who recognizes me."_ He decided.

He started paying attention to Joe and Hannes conversation. They were talking about the Titan Shifter. Something about that troubled Eren, but he couldn't pinpoint it.

Finally Hannes carried on, leaving Eren and Joe together.

Luckily, Joe didn't seem to be particularly bothered about Eren's situation.

Eren decided to try out his strategy.

"Umm...Joe?"

Joe looked at him curiously. "What?"

"I need to confess something." Eren said.

Seeing that he had Joe's attention, he continued.

"I lied about being a member of the Survey Corps because I really wished I was one. I actually wanted to try and get a spot though. Could you.. help me out?"

He waited for Joe to start yelling at him. Instead,

he was relieved to notice that Joe was actually laughing his heart out.

He waited for the laughter to stop.

"You're an interesting person, Eren" Joe said "I kinda guessed what you were up to when you told me that you were part of the 104th trainee squad. Well, I can't blame you for it can I? I can easily imagine myself doing something like that when I was younger."

Eren's face was red. "I'm sorry" he muttered.

"Apology accepted!"

Finally, they reached the destination. They were now facing a giant gate

Joe turned to him.

"So here we are! If you want, you can join the next trainee squad. " Joe said

"Umm... actually, I already have been trained." Eren replied.

Joe's eyes narrowed. "Seriously! Who trained you?"

"My father.. He used to be in the Survey Corps." Eren lied.

Joe stared at him for some time. Then he shrugged.

"Look, I can't do much about this but I'd suggest that you go and talk to Instructor Keith Shadis."

Eren nodded.

"See ya!" Joe said, raising his hand in farewell while he was walking away.

Before he could leave, Eren blurted out-" Joe!"

Joe turned around.

"Thanks. Thanks for everything!"

Joe smiled and nodded.

And then he was gone.

Eren turned back to the gate.

It was then that he realized that he had forgotten something important.

" _No one knows me here. So no one has any information about me."_

He entered the gates and walked inside. There, he saw a bald man yelling at the trainees.

" _But then... why are they talking about a Titan Shifter?"_

* * *

 **So now, Eren finds himself in a tricky position. Will he find answers when he becomes a member of the Survey Corps?  
**


	3. The Test

**Chapter-3**

 **Note:I do not own any of the characters in this story.**

* * *

Keith Shadis didn't really know what to say when a person had come barging into his room, asking him for a favor which simply didn't seem plausible.

"Sir, please! I need to get into the Survey Corps as soon as possible!" Eren insisted.

Shadis stared at him. The boy had been pestering him for an hour now, and He was growing impatient. "What are you talking about, trainee. The only way you're getting into the survey corps is if you join the trainee squad and toil alongside your comrades. There are no shortcuts to this."

Eren was desperate. "Sir, I already know the basics. I was trained by my father. Using the 3-dimensional maneuver gear, One-on-one combat- you name it."

Keith Shadis was quite for a few minutes. "Why are you so eager to join the survey corps, runt?"

Normally, Eren would have babbled something about freedom and titans, but now he was impatient and desperate.

"Sir, I'll do anything to prove that I'm perfectly capable of joining the Survey Corps." He said at last.

Shadis considered this for a moment. The boy was determined. And he had heart.

Finally, he nodded.

Eren was jubilant. But he controlled himself and responded with a quick "Thank you sir!"

* * *

Shadis returned with two students by his side who he introduced as Reiner Braun and Jean Kirstein.

Reiner seemed genuinely friendly, but Jean looked like he was bored and wanted to do something else.

Eren quickly noted that none of them recognized him either. This made him feel worse than ever before, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Shadis' instructions were clear.

"This young man says that he's already prepared to join the Survey Corps though he hasn't even joined the current trainee squad."

Both the soldiers shifted uncomfortably.

"He says that he has already been trained for this. Since you both didn't have anything to attend to at the moment, I thought you might evaluate his skills and see where he stands. Right now, I have some work to take care of, but I'll see you after some time"

Jean was not very happy with this. But he didn't want to question the intimidating inspector, so he and Reiner just carried on with their job.

* * *

It soon became obvious that Eren wasn't bluffing about being perfectly capable to join the Survey Corps. He handled the 3DMG as if he had used it several times before. Also, He had all the qualities one would expect to find in a soldier. Reiner was impressed.

"Wow, Eren! You really are something!" he exclaimed.

Eren wiped the sweat from his brow. "Thanks!"

Jean scowled and looked elsewhere.

"So, how did it go?"

Eren spotted Shadis walking towards them. His face gave Eren the heebie-jeebies. But he felt... different. Maybe it was because he wasn't as strict as he used to be before, or the fact that he wasn't yelling all the time.

Reiner looked at the notebook where all of Eren's scores had been recorded. "He's really good! I'm surprised that he hasn't been part of a trainee squad. All that's left now is to test his combat skills."

Shadis nodded. However Jean was not comfortable with the way things were going on.

He went up to Shadis and spoke in a low voice.

"Sir, with all due respect, you can't simply let Eren join the Survey corps like this! It isn't right."

Keith Shadis glared at him. "It was never my intention, Kid. A person who wants to become a soldier should never expect preferential treatment. All I wanted was to show him how great the gap is between him and the other soldiers. And I'd advice you to mind your business instead of telling me how to handle my own students."

He turned to Eren and spoke in a louder voice."Listen up, Eren. I've got a test for you. If you pass it, I will personally recommend you for the survey corps."

Eren was all fired up. _'I can do this!'_

"I'm ready sir!" he shouted.

Shadis smiled in a manner which Eren didn't find particularly reassuring. "Very good."

He brought the three teenagers to a field. Eren looked around, curious about what the test was.

Shadis put the question to rest.

"You will now fight with Reiner Braun here. If you manage to win, I'll allow you to join the Survey Corps."

Eren was not very comfortable with that. He wasn't really keen on fighting someone he knew so well.

"Is this the only way?" he asked.

"Yes" Shadis replied. "Now get started before I change my mind."

Eren sighed and got ready.

Jean was satisfied. ' _Of course! Reiner is quite good at fighting after all. There's no way a rookie could beat him. In the process, It also appears like the Inspector is giving this guy a chance even though he actually planned everything out.'_

On the field, Reiner grinned.

"I've gotta say one thing Eren, you'd really make a good soldier. However.."

He got into a fighting stance. "..You're not gonna pass this test that easily."

Eren didn't say anything, but braced himself.

For a moment, the two looked at each other. Then Eren made the first move. He ran towards Reiner and went for a direct punch. Reiner easily sidestepped and delivered a punch of his own to Eren's stomach. Eren moved away, gritting his teeth in pain. He pounced again, only to be caught and sent back, flying. He landed hard on the ground. He charged Reiner a few times but failed to land a hit on each occasion.

Jean smirked. The guy wasn't that great after all. He had no technique but just kept blindly attacking Reiner.

Eren was panting, having been completely out-matched by Reiner.

"You know, you could just give up and get into the Survey Corps the hard way." Reiner suggested.

But, Eren shook his head and grinned.

' _His technique is exactly like that of the other Reiner_.'

He stood up. This time he brought his fists in front of him, in a sort of boxing stance. This caught Jean's attention.

' _What is he up to?'_ he wondered.

He advanced towards Reiner. Then he leapt forward. Reiner dodged once again. However, this time Eren landed in a crouched position and swept his legs outward, knocking down a surprised Reiner. Before Reiner could do anything, Eren had pounced on him and restrained him completely

He had won.

Jean was gaping at them. Eren had won the match without even landing a single solid hit on Reiner.

Eren helped Reiner to his feet. Reiner smiled and thumped Eren on his back.

"That's some skills you've got, man!" He said.

Eren nodded and looked at Shadis,waiting for his decision.

Shadis' face was inscrutable as he looked at Eren. Then he nodded. An elated Eren pumped his fist into the air.

 _'Next stop, The Survey Corps!'_ He thought.


	4. The Titan Shifter

**Chapter-4:**

 **The Titan Shifter**

 **Note: I don't own any of these characters.**

* * *

Eren stood in a wide hallway.

 _'What am I doing here?'_ he wondered.

He looked around, but there was no one. He was alone.

Or so he thought.

Suddenly, he felt a chill in his spine as the whole place darkened.

At the other end there was a giant mirror which stretched from the ceiling to the floor.

Eren walked closer to it, wary of his surroundings.

He stared at his reflection in the mirror. He felt... wrong. He wasn't sure why. Was it because he was incomplete? Or was it because there was something inside him which wasn't supposed to be there.

That was when he noticed something behind him- A dark apparition who had just appeared in the mirror.

The apparition slowly glided towards him.

Eren turned around but saw no one.

He brought his eyes back to the mirror. The apparition was leaning against the shoulder of his image, but Eren felt nothing.

"Hello... Eren." The apparition whispered.

Eren felt fear wash over his body.

"Who are you?" He demanded. "How do you know me?"

The apparition smiled. It wasn't a smile which brought warmth, but one which made Eren want to back away from it.

"Of course I know you, Eren. I was the one who brought you here in the first place."

As Eren heard the last part, his fear was replaced by anger.

"You! You're the reason I'm here!" He yelled. He smashed his fist into the mirror, but the apparition simply made a rasping sound like it was mocking Eren.

"Now, now" It chided. "There is nothing you can do about it. Try as much as you can but you won't be able to lay a finger on me."

Eren clenched his fists. "I'll get out of here somehow. I'll find someone who knows something about this mess."

'And what if you don't?" The apparition asked him.

Eren didn't respond.

It continued. "Let me answer your question. There is no one here who can help you, and no matter what you do, you will be stuck here for the rest of your life."

It disappeared and re-appeared right in front of Eren, completely blocking his image.

"I know you Eren, know you well enough to be aware of the fact that everything you have achieved till now was because you depended on your friends who you could hide behind. But in this world, No one knows you, no one cares about you and no one will spare a thought for you, even if you die."

Eren sank to his knees as the grim realization hit his mind. He had lost everything he treasured. Did his life have any meaning now that he was alone?

But then, the apparition suddenly dissolved.

And Eren's image stepped forward staring at Eren like it was disgusted with him.

"Is that it Eren? Life puts a small obstacle in your way and you accept defeat? Get up! Don't be a coward! Just because you're alone doesn't mean you're weak!" The image yelled.

The whole corridor burst into flames.

For a second, Eren didn't budge.

And then he had a splitting headache. Images floated through his head, Memories which he had forgotten.

" _The expedition-It turns into a massacre!"_

And then he remembered a face, the face of the female titan who was the one behind it all. The one who had killed so many of his friends.

The headache stopped. Eren opened his eyes.

 _"I have to warn them!"_ He thought.

The image spoke once again. "Eren,you made a promise to yourself. Do you remember what it was?"

Eren slowly stood up and nodded.

"To destroy all the titans" he whispered.

"And no matter what happens, you have to do your best to fulfill this promise. Understand!"

Eren nodded.

And the whole room was consumed by the inferno.

* * *

Eren woke up, in a considerably alarmed state. This was because somebody was punching him mercilessly. With great effort, he managed to push off the attacker as his eyes adjusted to the brightness. It was only then that he recognized the person.

"Joe!"

"Wow, Eren you actually made it into the Survey Corps!" He yelled. "Congrats man! I never imagined that you could actually do it!"

Eren frowned. "Gee , thanks for the confidence,dude."

He got up. Then, his face turned red. "Oh no! I overslept!"

"Don't worry man! We've all been given a large break. We're free until the next expedition."

Eren immediately grabbed Joe's collar. Joe was alarmed.

"When is the expedition?" He demanded.

"Approximately two weeks from now. Why are you so excited about it?" Joe asked him.

Eren's shoulders relaxed. He pushed Joe back. "I was just curious." He said.

"Anyway, I'm supposed to tell you that you will be staying with my team for now, but you'll be assigned to another squad later on. Also, you're probably going to like it."

Eren looked at him in a questioning manner. "Why would I like it?"

Joe gave him a nasty grin. "Because all of the people in this particular squad are from the top 10 soldiers in the 104th trainee squad."

Eren's face turned white. He wasn't so sure if it was a good idea to meet his own comrades under these circumstances.

"Umm... Actually, I think I have other stuff to do so.. you know, I'll catch up with you later. " He tried to sneak away, but Joe grabbed him by his shirt and started dragging him away.

"Nonsense! You have to meet them first! Don't be a wimp!" Joe yelled at him.

Eren stopped resisting. He was sure there was no way he was going to change Joe's mind. And then he had a horrible thought.

"Umm.. Joe?"

"Yeah?"

"You didn't, by any chance, tell them about me lying that I was a member of the 104th trainee squad,did you?"

Joe's face broke into a huge smile. "Of course I did! They are my teammates after all!"

Eren groaned.

" _As if things weren't bad enough!"_ He thought.

* * *

They finally reached the squad's location. It was a house which was shabbily built, but looked comfortable all the same.

Joe barged inside.

"Hey guys! The new person is here." He yelled.

Eren was greeted by several familiar faces. There was Jean, Sasha, Reiner, Bertolt, Connie and Krista. It was actually kind of nice to meet them, even though they didn't recognize him either. When Eren looked around, He also spotted Armin in a corner. As he introduced himself , Armin timidly shook Eren's hand and then immediately looked somewhere else. Though Eren felt a bit bad about this, He just pushed it out of his mind, focusing on other things instead.

He also noted that Mikasa wasn't there. Though Eren was a bit disappointed, he had guessed that something like this would have happened. After all, The only reason that Mikasa had joined the survey corps in his world was because she wanted to protect Eren. Now, since he didn't 'exist' in this world, there was no reason why she would join the Survey Corps. With her talent and potential there were a whole bunch of other options for her. Still, Eren's heart ached when he imagined not having a chance to see his sister again.

Joe suddenly remembered something. He pulled another boy out from his hiding place, who seemed to be the most shy person in the lot.

"Eren, this is Ryan- Ryan Blake" Joe said.

Ryan was kind of short compared to the others and seemed like a small kid when he stood next to Joe who towered over him. As he and Eren shook hands, he flinched like he was afraid Eren would hit him. Joe shook his head sympathetically.

"Don't mind Ryan. He's afraid of everything that moves. It's quite surprising that he really wanted to join the Survey Corps." Joe snickered.

"Yes I do!" Ryan whimpered. "I want to protect the innocent people who might become victims to the Titans."

"I wanna kill Titans and stuff but I might wet my pants in the process, boohoo!" Joe blurted out in an over-exaggerated imitation of Ryan.

Eren looked around. He noticed that the others found Joe's cheerful nature a bit irritating.

"I have a question for you, Eren." said Connie, turning towards him with a mischievous grin."Did you actually tell Joe you were a part of our training squad?"

Eren's face turned red. He looked down. "I uh..."

"Oh,yes he did!" said Sasha. Everyone burst out laughing except for Krista who frowned at the others. "Come on guys, stop bullying him!"

"Well" Reiner sighed "Our squad is kind of popular, so it's not really surprising that you lied about it. But it wasn't like you needed to."

He turned to the others. "This guy was so good, he basically made Inspector Shadis' eyes pop out of his skull."

All eyes were on Eren, who blushed. "It wasn't like that." He protested..

"Whew" Bertholt sighed. "This has been quite an eventful month- with Eren skipping training and joining the Survey Corps and not to mention our little Titan Shifter friend having a fun time."

That caught Eren's attention. "Titan Shifter?"

"That would be me!" Ryan interjected.

Eren waited for someone to say "Just kidding" but no one did. They just listened grimly.

"You're the Titan shifter?" He asked Ryan, incredulous.

Ryan nodded and rubbed his head. "I first found out about it during the battle of Trost, you know... when the colossal titan appeared."

Eren was gaping at him, but he continued nevertheless.

"It was weird. But I was in control and.." He shrugged. "You know.." He brought his hands in front of him, palms inwards,and then moved them outwards in a wave-like motion. "BOOM!"

Eren shook his head. "Ok, hold up a second. When you first transformed into a titan did you face any problems with the government? Wouldn't they have probably perceived you as a threat or something?"

Ryan shrugged. "Well, I was in perfect control over my body so they didn't make much of a fuss about it."

"Wow! That's cool! So you remember everything in your Titan form?"

"Yep, but it gets sort of hazy."

Eren was a bit relieved to know that the Titan Shifter everyone was talking about wasn't him.

"It's good to know that the people are acting intelligently instead of treating you as a threat."

Jean sneered at Eren. "You know... you're taking this very calmly. Don't you understand how important this is?"

Eren's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? "

"Give me a break! " Jean yelled. " Stop acting like a know-it-all! Just because Shadis helped you out doesn't make you some sort of celebrity."

"I've said absolutely nothing to imply that. Is there something wrong with you?" Eren shot back.

Jean stepped towards Eren. "Listen up, you think that you're stupid training is enough to face the titans. But you're wrong. Up close and personal, Titans are horrible creatures who strike fear in everyone's hearts. Several people have given up on their dreams of joining the Survey Corps just after seeing these Titans. And who knows! Right now you're acting like you're cool and stuff, but maybe when you see Ryan transform, you'd try to kill him, just to save your precious neck. In that case, you wouldn't be the first person to have tried it."

"Jean!" Reiner shouted, but Jean ignored him.

Eren glared at Jean. "I ... would never turn against my comrades."

Since everyone was engrossed in the argument, none of them noticed that another person had entered the house and was watching the two of them.

Jean scowled. "You should have joined the trainees, you know. I'm serious. Nothing else can prepare you for the Titans."

"No way, I've seen a lot of people who did attend the training and were still too afraid to face the Titans. In the end , it all comes down to whether you have guts or not." Eren replied.

Jean rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever."

Eren let out a deep sigh. No matter which world he ended up in, He and Jean would always find some excuse to start fighting each other.

Then he balled his fists and swung at Jean who mirrored his movements.

* * *

In a flash, Eren and Jean were on the ground rolling around. The other members of the squad stood gaping, shocked at the turn of the events.

In a matter of seconds, Eren had the upper hand, kneeling over Jean, and restraining him. Jean fought back savagely, unwilling to give up.

But then, Eren felt a hand grab his shirt from behind. He tried to look at the person who was holding it, but before he could move, the person flung him across the room, sending him crashing into the wall.

Eren was stunned. He never imagined that anyone would have this sort of physical strength. He managed to stand up, and spotted Jean staring at the Person standing over him. Eren followed his gaze and what he saw shocked him.

 _"This can't be!"_ He thought.

He tried to say something, something to convey how confused he was.

But before he could even blink, The person had rushed to him, grabbed his throat, lifted him and slammed him into a wall.

Eren brought up both his hands, struggling to free himself from the person's grip. The hand which had latched onto his throat seemed soft and delicate, but there was no doubting the raw power behind it.

He started choking and his face turned white as he tried to pull the hand away with both of his own.

The person looked at him with disgust.

" _What do you think you're doing_?" She asked him coldly.

"It... It was my fault!' Jean blurted out. "I was the one who started it."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Eren was surprised. Why had he admitted that? Why not let Eren take all the blame?

The person's grip on Eren loosened. He slid to the ground, gasping for air. Slowly, the color returned to his face. He was still shocked by what he had seen.

"How is this possible _!"_ He thought.

"You should be ashamed of yourself, Jean. You can't control yourself and you try to pick fights with others. That's why you're so weak." the person growled before turning back to Eren.

"And as for you.." The person said. The fury emanating from her was enough to intimidate Eren "...how dare you pick a fight with a member of my squad."

With great difficulty, Eren looked up, and stared directly into the dark eyes of Mikasa Ackerman.

* * *

 **What will Eren do now that he's face to face with his sister? Find out in the next episode of... oh wait. This isn't Dragon Ball Z.  
**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please review. Constructive criticism is appreciated.**


	5. An Accomplice

**CHAPTER-5**

 **An Accomplice**

 **Note: I do not own any of the characters in this story.**

 **Alright, first a small section to reply to all the reviews!**

 **Uh.. wait, I've just got one.**

 **To Phoenix** :Wow, thanks! Glad you liked it! And yeah, as a matter of fact, I almost put Levi there, but decided against it. As for Eren, you'll just have to wait and watch! Also, sorry to disappoint you but there will probably be no pairings for now(Since I suck at them and I'm not really interested.)

 **Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

And with great difficulty, Eren looked up, and stared directly into the dark eyes of Mikasa Ackerman.

He didn't know what to say. He wasn't even sure how he felt.

It was Mikasa after all, but it was also like he was meeting a completely different person.

Mikasa stared right back at him.

"Listen up, rookie. You might have been big news in your neighborhood. But that amounts to nothing here. You're only on par with an average recruit."

She gestured at everyone in the room. "Everyone in this room is on a whole new level. They may not look like it, but they are some of the best soldiers we've ever had. It would be wise for you to show them some respect."

Eren grunted. He avoided Mikasa's gaze.

Mikasa scoffed at him. "That's it? That's all you can say?"

She turned to Reiner.

"This is the person who beat you?" She asked him in a mocking manner. "What a letdown."

Reiner didn't say anything. He simply stared at the ground.

Mikasa turned back to face Eren who was still sitting against the wall.

"What's the matter? Where did all that enthusiasm you had a minute ago go? Aren't you going to fight back?"

Eren still kept mum. He had to. He no longer knew what he was going to say.

Mikasa shrugged. "Fine. But in a real battle, no one's going to wait for you."

She stepped forward and kicked Eren hard. Eren doubled over in pain.

Mikasa ignored this and continued to grind her boot into his stomach. Eren gritted his teeth.

And then there was someone standing between him and Mikasa.

It was Joe. The goofy expression on his face was gone, replaced by a much more serious one.

"Mikasa, that's enough. I'm the one who's responsible for bringing him here. If you have any problem, you can hit me instead." He said firmly.

Mikasa looked at him in a menacing manner, but Joe held his ground.

Slowly, Mikasa stepped back.

"It's Eren isn't it? Why do you want to join the Survey Corps?" She asked him.

Eren spat blood and looked at her. His eyes were those of a wild animal. "To kill.. every single Titan in the world." He rasped.

"That's what you want to do. My question is this- "Why do you want to do it?"

Eren spoke after a small pause. "I saw my Mother killed right before my eyes, by a Titan. They destroyed my life and I want to make them suffer for that."

A pause.

Mikasa shook her head in a disapproving manner. "Revenge... It's the worst possible motivation a person can have."

She started walking out of the house. "If you don't have a true motive for doing something, you will not survive in this world."

And just like that, she was gone.

* * *

For a few moments, no one said anything.

And then Joe fell on his back. He raised his hands upwards as if he was offering a prayer to god and yelled "I'm alive!"

Jean helped Eren to his feet. "Sorry about that." He apologized. "If I had known that she was here I would have avoided a fight."

Eren nodded. For some reason he seemed to be really upset. Reiner tried to cheer him up.

"Don't worry about it! You're not the only one she's beaten up." He said.

Eren didn't respond.

"Once, she almost broke Jean's arm when he got into an argument with her." Joe recalled.

"Idiot! I was already exhausted and weak when she attacked me. That's why I got beaten up." Jean yelled at him.

Joe rolled his eyes.

"Actually, He was just trying to show off " Sasha whispered to Eren.

Armin stood up. "I know how you feel Eren, but you need to understand. Mikasa's had a tough time as a child. I'm the one here who knows her the most, but even that's not saying much. She looks at the world from a different perspective. She finds it difficult to trust people and her ordeals have scarred her for life, even warping her personality a bit. If it makes you feel better, she treats everyone in the same way. She's not really got anything against you."

It didn't really help Eren, but the fact that everyone was _trying_ to help him, cheered him up a bit. He managed a small grin.

* * *

That night, Eren lay awake in his bed. He was thinking about the large heap of trouble he was in.

 _"In my universe, the only reason why Mikasa was on my side was because I helped her out when she was kidnapped by those guys. If that didn't happen... would we have actually been friends? Or would she be just like this?"_

And Mikasa had hit him. Actually hit him. Eren could barely recall the last time something like that had happened.

 _It was when he had accidentally spilled something on the scarf he had given her. She had been furious and had slapped him without thinking. But when she had realized what she had done, she had immediately apologized, and she had looked so upset that Eren had actually felt bad for her._

Eren stared at the ceiling. _'Mikasa.. what wouldn't I give to see you here..'_

And as if that wasn't enough, there was the other problem. The expedition.

" _I remember being attacked by a female titan who seemed to show signs of intelligence and even fighting prowess. I remember being devoured by the Titan and later waking up in a bed. But_ _I've got nothing else on her. And if I couldn't do anything then, what good will I be now."_

At that moment, Eren made a decision.

" _I can't do this alone. I need an accomplice."_

With that in mind he woke up. He noticed that everyone was asleep. However, Ryan's bed was empty.

Eren went to Armin and shook his shoulders, trying to wake him up.

It happened a bit sooner than expected. Armin shot up and nearly screamed. Luckily, Eren managed to cover his mouth just in time.

Armin immediately stopped. Eren put a finger on his lips. Then he motioned outside. Immediately, Armin understood. Both of them walked out.

As soon as they had covered a reasonable distance from the house Armin turned to Eren with a slight frown on his face.

"We shouldn't be here." He said.

"This is important." Eren insisted.

Armin stared at him. "Why?"

"Because our lives might depend on it." Eren replied.

Armin nodded, though he didn't look convinced.

Eren took a deep breath.

"I'm not from this world." He revealed.

Armin's expression didn't change even a bit.

Eren continued. "Basically, I've come from a sort of parallel universe which is almost the same as this one with only minor differences. One of them is that our world had no Joe or Ryan. Also, it seems that I only exist in 'that' world. Uh.. that is to say, there is no version of me in 'this' universe."

As he was thinking about what to say next, He got a bit nervous. It certainly felt like he had rushed though things. Would Armin even buy this. Well, Eren had chosen to tell it to him because he thought that Armin had the highest chance of not dismissing it as some sort of joke. He was also the one Eren trusted the most.

"So.. " Armin said. "You're saying you're from any universe similar to ours?". He shook his head,"I don't get this. Why do you keep lying?"

Eren stared at him."I'm not a liar!"

"You lied to Joe. It seems highly probable that you're lying now." Armin shot back.

Eren thought about it for a few moments, then spoke up.

"Armin, I get your point. Just tell me one thing. If you were from a parallel universe, what would you do to prove it."

It made sense to say that. When he was small, Eren and Armin would frequently have these sorts of discussions.

Armin thought about it. He was far from convinced about Eren, but he did think the idea was interesting.

Finally, he shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I'd tell the person something I could know about him only if I was actually from another universe."

Eren felt that was difficult. He struggled to find something, but he got a blank.

Armin sighed. "Just like I thought... Go get some sleep, Eren. "

As he walked away. Eren got desperate.

"In my universe, we're best friends and ... you've got a good grasp of strategy and You umm.. get bullied all the time."

Armin shook his head."Anyone could know that."

And then when it seemed like the plan was going to fail, Eren found an answer. He felt a ray of hope , wondering why he hadn't used it before.

"Fine I'll tell you about my actual motive for joining the Survey Corps..."

Armin kept walking.

"...There was a book..."

Armin froze.

".. a book which talked about a lot of stuff.. like giant bodies of salt water called oceans, Expanses of land covered with sand called deserts and um..Ice Mountains called-"

"Glaciers" Armin finished. He had turned away from Eren, but Eren could see that he was breaking down.

"I never told a soul about that." Armin whispered.

"Exactly!" Eren said "No one except me."

He walked towards Armin. "I inherited your dream, Armin. I wanted to know about the outside world. _That's_ why I joined the Survey Corps. To retrieve the things the Titans took from us."

But it was too much for Armin. Parallel universes. A friend who was so close to him that he had revealed his dream to him.

Eren understood. He gave Armin some time. He was just relieved that everything had worked out.

And then he saw someone emerge from the bushes near them. It was Ryan and he had a blank expression on his face.

"I heard everything" He croaked.

Normally, Eren would have panicked. But this wasn't a time for that. He now had an ally by his side and he felt stronger.

"It doesn't matter." he said as a gust of wind blew past the two. "I was going to tell you anyway."

* * *

 **Whew! This chapter was a tough one. Especially the last part. But hopefully, the rest of it went smoothly.  
**

 **Thank God it's over.**


	6. What's the plan?

**Chapter-6**

 **What's the plan?**

 **Note: I don't own any of these characters.**

 **Wow! This time I've got quite a few reviews! I must thank everyone for their feedback. I find it quite useful and entertaining.**

 **To Z:** Thanks! And don't worry about irritating me! I do stuff like that all the time:).

 **To Phoenix:** I'll update as soon as I can! But my holidays are coming to an end so it might slow down a bit. P.S.- Good to know that you're not disappointed about the pairing thing!

 **Ok, that's all there is. And guys, I might need a bit of help with the story, but I'll talk about it at the end of the chapter.**

* * *

Three people sat at the coffee table. One was a tall guy with messy brown hair, another was a blonde guy and the third was the shortest of the lot- a person who looked like he was going to pass out any second.

"Come on, Man!" said Eren while taking a sip of coffee. "No one's going to hit you here."

"If Joe finds out about this or even Mikasa for that matter, then we're in trouble." Armin croaked.

Ryan looked at him. "Oh! I didn't tell you, did I? Mikasa asked me to have a talk with Eren ."

Eren spat out his coffee. A few people stared at them and muttered something about stupid kids.

"Mikasa _asked_ you to talk to me?"

Ryan moved his chair away from Eren. "Umm.. yeah. Something about looking after you and making sure you wouldn't get into trouble with the other soldiers."

Eren felt relieved. Maybe this Mikasa wasn't as bad as he first thought she was.

"Good to know that!" He said.

Armin stared at him. "Aren't you getting a bit over-excited. You did say that you didn't know the Mikasa in your universe that well so it shouldn't really be a big deal should it?."

Eren had forgotten about that. He still hadn't told Armin about a few things-which included him being a titan-shifter in his world and his relationship with Mikasa in his world. If anyone in this universe found out about the latter, Eren thought he might die of embarrassment.

"uh.. yeah." He replied. "She was in another squad after all."

Ryan was a bit bored. "Guys, we have only about 10 days till the expedition, so if you don't mind.."

Eren cleared his throat. "Yeah, about that." His face turned serious. "I've already told you guys about some of these things but I'm going to start from the first. In my world, when we went on the expedition, everything was fine at first. Then, we suddenly met a Titan who was different from the others."

"Different?" Armin asked.

"Yeah. For instance, most Titans don't really have any specific gender. But this one definitely was a female. Secondly, This Titan was extremely intelligent. She managed to outsmart us and even protected her weak point when we attacked it. Third, she had a sort of strange ability to harden her skin, making it difficult for us to cut her. "

"Still, I don't get it." said Ryan. "Why is one titan such an issue. Couldn't I just..you know.. transform and BAM!?"

"That depends on your fighting ability." Eren said.

Ryan was silent, thinking about what Eren had said.

Armin spoke. "Ryan transforms into a titan which is 14 meters tall. In his Titan form, he looks _much_ more menacing than he does now. And he's really strong compared to the other titans. Are you sure, he's going to have a problem with this 'Female Titan'?"

"The Titan-shifter in our world took out 20 titans in the battle of Trost. And the Female Titan beat him without even trying." Eren couldn't help feeling a bitter taste in his mouth as he said this.

Armin looked alarmed. "What did she do after that?"

Eren glanced at Ryan and spoke carefully.

"She tried to..kidnap the Titan shifter. Luckily, he was saved by Levi and Mikasa."

Ryan gulped. "So you're saying that she'll be coming after me."

"Yes" Eren replied.

"So, what's the plan?" Armin asked.

Eren shrugged. "I don't..know. Usually you're the one who comes up with plans. I might need some time to think."

Armin nodded. He knew that Eren was having a tough time so he didn't trouble him.

Instead, he turned to Ryan.

"By the way, what were you up to yesterday in the night?" He asked him.

"Well, Hanji had called me their to help her out with her research on Titans-you know..the ones they captured. She calls them Sonny and- "

"Bean" Eren finished.

Armin and Ryan looked at him curiously.

"Did you remember something." Armin asked him.

"Yep. I'll explain it to you on the way." He said as he started walking.

"But where are we going?" Ryan asked.

"You're going to introduce me to Levi's squad." Eren replied.

* * *

They were now standing in front of another cabin.

Armin and Ryan were panting.

"So.." Ryan said "The person who becomes the female titan kills Bean and Sonny five days before the expedition happens right?"

Eren nodded. "I think I've got a good idea about what's going on, but First, I really need to get familiar with Levi's squad."

"You're probably the first person I've seen who _wants_ to meet Levi, but oh well.." said Armin. He turned and looked inside through the window, then suddenly screamed and fell back.

"What's the matter?" Eren asked him. He pointed at the window.

Eren and Ryan looked inside then jumped back. Staring at them was a Titan's face. Immediately, Eren drew his swords and got ready to fight.

Then the Titan took it's head off. Literally.

That was when Eren realised what was happening. It was Hanji wearing a mask which resembled a titan's face.

She blinked at them, saw Ryan and then gave a manic grin.

"Ryan! You're just in time!"

* * *

 **Yeah, yeah. I know this chapter's kind of boring but you guys will have to bear with it for some time.**

 **Anyway, I needed some help with my story. I've already planned for the whole Female Titan Arc. But I really need some ideas for the story after that. For some reason,I'm not really interested with going into the canon manga part after the Female Titan Arc. I'm thinking it might be better if the story follows another path. So if you guys could help me out, it would be great.**

 **That's all for now.**


	7. Humanity's Strongest

**Chapter-7**

 **Humanity's Strongest**

 **Note: I do not own any of these characters**

 **On with the reviews**

 **Phoenix:** I think this chapter was alright, it was funny at the end. I wonder what will happen next? I wonder if Eren is going to try to transform to see if he can still be a titan. update! I'll have to see how this arc ends before giving u some ideas, sorry :(

 **Reply:** About the transformation thing.. we'll just have to see won't we? Anyway, I don't really need the ideas immediately so it's ok!

* * *

Hanji invited them inside and everyone sat at the table (though they all made sure that they were as far as possible from the Titan mask).

"What the heck was that!" Ryan demanded.

Hanji stared at him "It's a Titan mask"

"Yeah, I know that, but why are you having one!" Ryan demanded.

"Oh yes, That's what I wanted to talk about." Hanji said in an evil manner. "You see.. I was wondering how the Titans would react to me when I approached them with this mask on my face."

Armin was interested. "What happened? Was there any difference?"

Hanji scratched her head. "Yep! Instead of staring at me for some time and _then_ attacking, they tried to bite my head off as soon as I was close to them."

Armin and Eren did what was the mental equivalent of a face palm.

"So why are you two here?" Hanji asked them.

Ryan leaned closer to her and said in a low voice. "They want to join... the 'Brotherhood'"

Hanji's face turned serious. "So.." She whispered to them. "You wish to join... the 'Brotherhood'? To do so, you must answer the three great questions of doom"

Eren restrained himself before he could start ripping his hair out. "Yeah Ok, we'll do it."

Hanji smiled.

"The first question: What nutrients do Titans derive from humans as food?"

"Nothing- they spit them out once they're bored." Armin said.

"Correct!- Now the second question- What is a Titan's weak point?"

"The back of it's neck" Eren said, exasperated.

"Good job! Now the last one- What is Levi's nickname?"

This was the toughest question of the lot. Not because they didn't know the answer, but because they didn't want to say it.

Armin and Eren's eyes met and they came to a silent agreement.

Eren started-"Shor..."

"..ty" Armin finished with a mortified whisper.

Both of them planted their heads on the table, relieved that the test was over.

Hanji congratulated them and announced "We now have a total of four members in the 'Brotherhood'. You are all welcome to come here whenever you want!"

When Hanji had calmed down, He asked her about the rest of squad.

"Oh! Well I think most of them are having some combined training session along with your squad. As for Levi, he's probably loafing around on the wall."

* * *

Eren decided "I'm going to meet Levi. You, Armin?"

Armin shook his head. "We both are going to the training session. You should probably come too or you might make Mikasa angry."

"So what?" Eren asked in a careless manner.

Armin gritted his teeth. "She is the leader of our squad after all, Eren and you didn't sound so brave when she was beating you up."

Eren scowled at him. "I'm not afraid of her!" He said.

Armin rolled his eyes. "Yes, you are!"

Eren gave him an evil stare but dropped it immediately. "Man! You are really similar to the Armin in my world. You guys always have the tendency to say the things which are most annoying but You're usually right. Anyway, I'll manage somehow. First,I really need to see Humanity's best soldier."

He cracked a smile. "And I'm going to have a much more entertaining time than you guys."

* * *

 _"This isn't as interesting as I expected it to be."_ Eren thought.

He was on the top of the wall. And he was not very pleased to find out that there were a _lot_ of people there.

Right next to him were a group of irritating teenagers who were bragging about the number of Titans they had killed. Eren simply ignored them. He scanned the surroundings for someone familiar but to no avail. And then suddenly he bumped into a person.

"Hey! Can't you see where you're going?" the person demanded.

Eren got a good look at her.

"Pe-Petra?" he asked.

She looked back at him. "I'm sorry but do I know you?" She asked.

Eren had momentarily lost control over himself as he remembered how Levi's whole crew had been slaughtered by the female titan. But he managed to maintain his composure. "Uh no... but I've heard of you from the people around here."

Petra seemed to understand. "Oh yeah! Thanks to our leader, The Special Operations Squad is quite popular."

"Uhh... speaking of which, I was wondering if I could meet him." said Eren.

Before Petra could respond, there was a big commotion. Eren turned around to see that one of the kids from the other group had descended from the wall.

Apparently, the kid was performing some sort of dare which involved him going outside the wall. However the kid had lost control of his gear when he was a few meters away from the ground and ended up five hundred meters away from a wandering titan.

Eren and a number of others swore. The 5-metre Titan started moving towards the kid. The kid was still stationary.

" _He must have sprained his ankle!"_ Eren thought. " _Idiot!_ "

Immediately, Eren tried to jump off the wall. But Petra grabbed him from behind.

"Are you crazy!" She whispered.

Eren shook her off and jumped. Using his 3-D maneuver gear. He catapulted himself towards the guy and landed in front of him. He gritted his teeth in frustration. They were on level ground,so his gear was useless. The Titan was now picking up on the pace. With the dead weight of the soldier on his shoulders, he knew there was no way he could outrun the Titan.

They were now 10 meters apart. The Titan eyed him maliciously.

 _"That's it! I'm going in 'blaze of glory mode'"_ thought Eren as he brought his hand close to his mouth.

And then it happened.

Something moved so fast that Eren couldn't process was going on. All He saw a flash of blades cutting vertically through the titan like it was cheese.

In moments the titan's body had been annihilated. Eren and the boy stood gaping.

They turned around to see a familiar, short guy with black hair who was looking at his bloody swords with disgust.

"Uh... revolting" He said while wiping it off. Then he turned towards Eren. "What happened? Brain gone out for a stroll eh? Get moving."

* * *

Somehow, the two managed to escort the boy to safety at the walls. The boy was sobbing. He thanked Levi profusely.

"It wasn't me. It was him" Levi said,looking at Eren. "If he hadn't shown up, the Titan would probably have just pounced on bought me enough time to take it out. Next time, don't throw your life away for something so stupid."

"And the same goes for you." He said to Eren. "Next time, think before you do something impulsive. If you want to die however..." He gave Eren a nasty look."You can always ask me."

"Uh... sure." said Eren in a high-pitched voice.

"And what was your name again, brat?" Levi asked him.

Eren straightened up.

"Eren- Eren Yaegar" He said.


	8. A Sparring Match

**Chapter-8**

 **A Sparring Match**

 **Note: I do not own any of the characters in this story**

 **To Phoenix: and Z:** Wow! For some reason I didn't expect people to be so excited about Levi so this is quite a surprise. Anyway, thanks for the feedback.

 **To Touhou is life:** Good to know that you like these types of stories too. As for the pace,I can definitely understand why you'd want me to speed up a bit but it's necessary and an essential part of the plot. However,rest assured. I'm not going to be describing every single day in detail. I'm just going to mention what I feel are the key points. P.S. I had to google the last phrase. :)

 **On with the chapter.**

* * *

Eren raced into the field and skidded to a stop. He spotted Mikasa and Joe facing off. It looked like they were going to have some sort of sparring match which had been interrupted by Eren's sudden appearance.

Mikasa gave him a death stare. "What exactly were you doing till now?"

Eren caught his breath before replying. "I uh... got lost..."

Jean stared at him. "You got ...lost?"

"Yeah..."

Mikasa shook her head.

"You're the one who should be bothering about these training sessions the most, seeing how helpless you were when I beat you up." She told him.

"You took me by surprise." Eren muttered.

"Did you say something?"

"uh.. no!" Eren replied. He noticed that there was no one from Levi's squad- meaning that they had already left.

He went and sat next to Armin.

"See.. I handled that well didn't I?"

Armin rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Now focus."

Mikasa and Joe started. Joe charged towards Mikasa and then delivered a lightning fast punch towards her. However, Mikasa used her arm to deflect the punch away from it's previous course. Joe's fist zoomed past her. She grabbed hold of his hand and threw him a few meters away. Joe landed hard, but he got up immediately. He was already out of breath.

"Wow! That was quite a warm up." He murmured.

Mikasa was silent for a few seconds. Then she cracked a small smile.

"This is too easy." She remarked.

Joe stared at her. "What?"

"You're too predictable. This is going to be easy. In fact, I'll help you out. I'll use just one hand." She replied while putting her left hand behind her back.

Joe gave her an ' _Are you kidding me'_ look.

But then, he realized that Mikasa was dead-serious.

"She seems different... from before." Eren whispered to Armin.

Armin nodded."This is something she enjoys doing, something which makes her happy. That's probably the reason."

And then, Joe did something weird.

"Fine!" He replied."But then I'm not using _any of my_ hands."

He hid both his hands behind his back.

Everyone gaped at him.

"Are you sure about this, Joe?" Mikasa asked him skeptically.

"Yes, absolutely!" Joe said with a confident grin on his face.

* * *

5 seconds... 5 seconds was all it took for Mikasa to take down Joe.

Ryan shook his head in pity. What else was Joe expecting?

Still, even though he lost, Joe had managed to steal the show.

And then Mikasa cracked her knuckles. She looked at the rest of them.

No one volunteered. Her sight fell on Reiner who gulped. Immediately, he went behind Eren and pushed him forward.

Eren found himself in the middle of the field looking at Mikasa.

' _Damn!'_

' _How did I get into this mess!'  
_

Mikasa looked at him. "You, huh?"

It was too late for Eren to turn tail. So he just got into position and faced Mikasa.

"Bring it on!" He said.

Mikasa waited for Eren to make a move. And then,when it became obvious that he wasn't keen on starting the battle. She started walking towards him- slowly, but confidently.

Eren gritted his teeth.

Mikasa planted one leg firmly on the ground and then unleashed a full-fledged kick towards the side of Eren's head. Eren moved both his hands forward and pushed Mikasa's leg upwards with his forearms while ducking a bit so that it passed harmlessly over him.

Still, Eren felt pain build up in his arms from the power behind the kick. He was sure that if it had made contact, It would have put him out of commission.

Mikasa proceeded to use her momentum to fuel an uppercut directed at him but Eren stepped backwards and avoided it. Mikasa frowned as she moved in once more. Then she went for a hook towards Eren's head.

This time, Eren ducked once again.

This was a mistake on his part. He was too close to Mikasa who promptly kicked him in his chest, sending him flying backwards a few meters. Eren crashed into the ground.

"Again, You're just trying to dodge. You're not going on the offensive. That's why you're so predictable." Mikasa said.

Ryan who had seen the whole thing, blinked. Of course, Eren was at the disadvantage. However, after seeing him move, Ryan suddenly understood why he had beaten Reiner so easily. His reflexes and speed were top-notch.

"Hmm! So, are you going to do this the whole time like a coward? Should I remind you that the Titan's are even more dangerous than I am? If you can't even fight back, how are you going to take 'revenge' on the Titan's who killed your poor mother." Mikasa mocked him.

"Mikasa, that's enough!" Krista yelled, horrified.

Jean grimaced. Mikasa had crossed the line on this one. She probably didn't mean what she had said and was just trying to egg Eren on but when he got a glimpse of his enraged face, there was only one thought in his mind.

 _'He's pissed.'_

Eren was shaking with barely suppressed emotion. At first, he had thought that this version of Mikasa was different from the one in his world and maybe... better in some ways. But there was, in fact, one glaring similarity.

 _"Always thinking she was superior to me in everything."_

He stood up and dusted his uniform.

' _Always treating me like a kid.'_

He got into a stance- an actual combat-stance.

 _'Always looking down on me.'_

"You're going to regret saying that." He spat at her.

"Make me." Mikasa shot back.

Eren charged at her. Mikasa didn't back down. Eren started punching with the ferocity of an enraged beast. Mikasa dodged the punches and used one of her own, hitting him in the stomach.

But Eren simply ignored the pain and punched her right in the face.

Mikasa stepped backward, momentarily stunned, but got over the shock quickly.

"A good punch" She commented "But not enough power behind it."

Eren was still angry but he was in control now. " _I can't beat her with raw strength alone." ._

But then he thought of something which amused him.

" _Well, why not?"_

He started running towards Mikasa at full speed. Mikasa got ready to intercept him.

However, At the last moment, Eren dropped down and slid past a completely bewildered Mikasa. As he crossed her, he cancelled his momentum by putting his hands on the ground. He stood up quickly and delivered a strong low kick to Mikasa's right leg from behind.

 _'Yes!'_ He thought as it connected.

There was a dull thud. Mikasa didn't even flinch when it landed. She just turned around and stared at him.

"Are you finished?" Mikasa asked...

Reiner was gaping at Eren. "That was... that was one of.."

"...Annie's moves" Bertolt finished. "I know. But it still wasn't enough." He looked at Eren who was lying on the ground. He was now sure that Eren was one of the best fighters he had ever seen except for maybe Mikasa and Annie...

Meanwhile, Eren had finally found his voice.

"I give up." He said.

Mikasa helped him to his feet. "You're much better than I first gave you credit for Eren. I apologize about anything I said which may have offended you."

Eren managed a smile. "It's ok. And You're really very strong yourself.. _too strong._ "

Mikasa's face turned cold once again. "I was merely harnessing my inner strength. " She replied.

"Inner.. strength?" Eren asked.

"Yes. Something inside me awoke when there was great danger to my life and forced me to fight for survival. This strength of mine is what keeps me alive." Mikasa replied.

Eren nodded. He wasn't entirely sure what Mikasa was talking about, but he decided to worry about it later.

Mikasa turned to the rest of the squad. "Next?"

* * *

 **A few hours later..**

Levi sighed as he walked towards commander Erwin's office. The day was as boring as it could get. And now Erwin had summoned him, probably to talk about something related to the expedition.

As he reached it, he heard raised voices.

"This is wrong! We should be in the middle of things, not watching from the sidelines! What would you have us do- expose the others to danger?"

Then a calm voice spoke.

"Mikasa, try to understand. I cannot explain everything to you but this is what my intuition is telling me to do."

Levi entered the room and the argument stopped.

Erwin glanced at him."Ah, Levi. Good to see you."

Levi nodded at him and then looked at Mikasa who was still frowning.

Erwin turned to her. "We'll talk about this later. First let me explain the situation to Levi."

He paused for a second before continuing. "During the expedition, I want all your squad members to be with Ryan Blake at all times and defend him - No matter what happens. Understand?"

Levi spoke after a second. "Yes."

Mikasa stood up. "You too! Don't you think concentrating our strongest resources at a single point instead of spreading it out is incorrect!"

Levi gave a resigned shrug. "Erwin wants me to do it and that's all I need to know."

Mikasa sighed. "Fine.. I'll think about it too. Commander, can't you explain why you want us to do this?"

Erwin rested his head on his hands like he always did when he was thinking hard. "No... Not until I'm certain."

Mikasa gave up. There was no way she could change his mind.

"Is that all?" She asked.

"Yes, right now I need to speak with Levi regarding other matters." Erwin said.

Mikasa nodded and got up.

"And Mikasa,I wanted to ask you about something."

"What is it?"

"How is the latest member of your squad doing? Is he good?"

"He's fine. And he has talent. But I have doubts as to whether he has what it takes to face Titans."

And with that, she left.

Erwin chuckled. "I've heard quite a few rumors about this person myself. What do you think, Levi?"

"I think.. that he may be good... or he may be a person who excels at getting killed." Levi replied in an uninterested manner."

* * *

Erwin was not the only one who was planning something. There was another person too and he was still disturbed. As he lay on the grass and looked at the sky, He knew something important was coming. It was Eren.

He sat up. "Armin, Ryan... I've decided."

Ryan who was dreaming a few moments ago looked up at him. "Finally thought of something?"

"Yeah."

"Spill it " Armin told him.

"There are still a lot of things I can't really remember regarding the expedition, and I'm uneasy about this female titan..." Said Eren as he stared at the setting sun. "But I think I know what we need to do."

"And that is?"

"We're not going to wait for the expedition. We're going to stop the culprit on the day she attacks Sonny and Bean. _Before_ she can cause any real damage."

* * *

 **Yep, took me a while for this one. Anyway, what will happen next? Is this sort of plan going to work? Find out in the next chapter!  
**

 **Criticism and feedback are always appreciated.**


	9. Accident

**Chapter-9**

 **Accident**

 **Note: I don't own any of these characters**

 **To Phoenix:** Yeah, well Mikasa is one of the strongest humans in the series (in my opinion) so... Anyway, good to know that you enjoyed the chapter!

* * *

Eren sat at the table, not knowing what to do. It was free time and the rest of the squad members were focusing on their hobbies. This was something new to Eren.

 _"These guys take it too easy. We're soldiers who are supposed to fight Titans, We're not here for some sort of summer camp!"_

There was another reason why he didn't feel like doing anything. It was because he was really nervous.

" _Today's the day we have to stop that person from killing the Titans. I wonder how the others are so relaxed."_

He sighed when he remembered how tough it had been to convince Armin about their plan. Armin had been worried that something would go wrong and wanted to tell everything to commander Erwin but Eren disagreed, because he felt that no one would buy it. So Armin had finally relented and decided to back Eren.

At the moment, He was nowhere to be seen. And Eren had almost dozed off. But then he was rudely awakened by a nasty slap on his back. It was Reiner, accompanied by Bertolt.

"What are you doing here?" Reiner asked him.

"Nothing."

Reiner frowned. "You do realize that it was a rhetorical question, don't you?"

"Err..."

Bertolt laughed, "You're not going to be doing anything useful if you just keep loafing around. Come on!"

He and Reiner dragged Eren out of the house and pulled him towards the stables.

"Wh...what are you doing?" Eren demanded.

"We're gonna teach you horse-riding!" Reiner announced.

"Oh uh... sorry, I know how to ride a horse." said Eren.

"Yeah but just knowing how to ride a horse is way different compared to actually enjoying it." Reiner explained.

"But I want to do something useful. Not waste my time!"

"You won't be" Bertolt assured him. "We're not that lucky. Most of the activities have a purpose of improving one's overall ability as a soldier."

Suddenly, something went flashing past them and the trio jumped away just in time. They gaped as they saw the horse come to a stop. Now, Eren wasn't the brightest guy when it came to horses but this one was definitely bad-ass. It had a coat with a grey tint and a powerful, but graceful body painted with black stripes which resembled lightning bolts. It was definitely different from the other horses.

"Whoah" was all Eren could say.

Ryan who was riding the horse, jumped off, made wretching sounds with his throat and grabbed his stomach.

"That's Rai." Reiner explained. "He's the fastest horse I've ever seen. He can go at least two to three times as fast as other horses"

Eren choked " _Two-to-three_ times as fast? You're kidding me!"

Reiner shook his head. "I know it sounds dumb, but it's true. Here's the thing, it only runs at high speeds when someone's riding it."

"...and till now Ryan's the only one who's been able to push him too maximum speed without going crazy."

"Wow!" said Eren said. "I never knew something like this existed."

"Him" said Ryan as he managed to control his nausea.

"What?"

"He's not some object. He's a person." said Ryan, rubbing the horse's mane. " This horse is a person. And he's my best friend."

"A horse is your best friend?"

"Yep!" He's been with me my entire life. He's awesome!"

Eren looked at Bertolt who was shaking his head sadly.

"He's still a kid,let him be." he whispered.

Eren nodded.

Then Reiner stepped forward. "Can I try?"

Ryan grinned in a nasty manner. "Sure!"

While Reiner was riding the horse, Eren spoke with Ryan.

"So.. You're going to take him along with you to the expedition?" He asked.

Ryan shook his head, horrified at the thought. "No way!" He said. "I'd never put Rai in danger!"

Eren nodded.

Both of them turned around to see Rai galloping towards them. He wasn't slowing down.

They yelled and dived out of the way. A terrified Reiner got thrown off and landed on Eren, who was definitely not happy about it.

Rai slowed down to a trot.

Reiner finally got off Eren, then sank to the ground. "Whew... glad I'm still alive after all that."

"So am I..." Eren groaned.

* * *

It was night. Eren forced his eyes open. Keeping watch over Sonny and Bean while remaining hidden behind some trees wasn't the most comfortable job in the world. Armin had stayed back to provide an alibi for the two and Eren was a little envious about that. Ryan had already dozed off quite a few times. Eren kept hitting him on his head to make sure he was awake. It was cold. Eren and Ryan were starving but there was nothing they could do now. They were just too nervous to eat anything before this affair was handled properly.

To pass time, he started a conversation with Ryan.

Ryan had a messed-up childhood. His mother had died when he was young and his father had struggled to ensure that Ryan had a proper life. However he fell ill and died when Ryan was 12, leaving him with only one thing- his uh...horse. Eren still couldn't understand how someone could develop such a close relationship with an animal but he didn't bother Ryan about that.

Just like Eren, Ryan had wanted to join the Survey Corps and explore the world despite being kind-of timid. When he joined the 104th trainee squad, he had found it difficult to cope with the great stress but had somehow managed to become eligible and even got a place in the top 10 recruits.

Then when the Titans had invaded, Ryan had also transformed into a titan (though he had no idea how he had obtained the ability in the first place). With his help, The survey corps had managed to recover the wall and stop the Titan attack.

Ryan finished his story, then looked up at the trees.

"You know, Eren... You should tell me your story too sometime."

Eren frowned. "But I already did! What else is there for me to say?"

Ryan laughed in a manner significantly different from the one Eren was used to. It was a forced laugh and it didn't sound like Ryan was happy.

"Your _real_ story. Don't take me for granted just because I'm such a coward. It's a bit obvious that you're hiding things from us."

Eren was silent for a moment. "When did you find out about this?" He asked.

"I just felt it. At first, I was just a bit suspicious, but later.. I realized that I was right."

He got up. "I don't really mind if you keep secrets, Eren. But you know... you can't really expect people to trust you unless you trust them too. Just tell me one thing. Why are you hiding stuff from us?"

Eren sighed. "Because... if I say everything,I'm afraid..."

"Afraid of what?" Ryan demanded.

Eren was about to speak when he saw something. His eyes widened.

Ryan noticed this and turned around. Both of them could barely see anything in the dark, but were able to distinguish the shadowy figure who had balanced herself on the branch.

' _Is it her?'_ Ryan mouthed.

Eren nodded. Ryan put on his mask. This was a precautionary measure in case they were discovered by the other Titan shifter who would definitely try to capture Ryan. Eren didn't need one since the person probably didn't know about him.

They crept closer, and noticed that the person was making adjustments to her gear and then put a mask on her face too.

' _She doesn't want to be recognized either.'_ Eren realized.

Then, before he could react, The person had zipped ahead.

Cursing under his breath, Ryan and Eren followed her with their 3DMG gear. She came to a stop at the edge of the forest, landed on the ground and started sprinting towards the location of the two titans.

Eren swore. This wasn't part of the plan. They were supposed to intercept the person before the titans were attacked. He was going to charge out into the open, but Ryan restrained him.

"We can't let her know we're here!" Ryan whispered urgently.

Eren gritted his teeth. The person disappeared behind the house.

"She's going to kill them!"

"I know, Eren but get a grip! We'll be found and we won't be able to stop her."

Suddenly there was a commotion near the house. Eren couldn't see anything, but he had a good idea about what was happening. He punched a tree in frustration.

And then the figure returned, moving with great speed towards the forest.

"Ryan, stay on her tail. I'll go further inside and try to intercept her directly."

Ryan nodded. He and Eren immediately sprang into action.

* * *

Ryan was hot on the killers trail. She was a tricky one though. She knew how to use her gear effectively and she kept weaving past trees and changing her course, making her a difficult target.

 _"I won't be able to catch her at this rate."_ He thought.

Then, She changed her course so that she moved behind a large tree. Ryan did the same, going around the tree.

However, when he got to the other side, He couldn't see anyone. His heart was beating hard. He immediately knew that something was wrong. He scanned the surroundings.

"Looking for me?".

Before Ryan could do any thing, he felt something sharp sink into his right shoulder. He moved away before the attacker could do something serious but he was unable to use his gear with his injured arm and he crashed hard into the ground.

For a moment, he thought that his end was near. But then his assailant seemed to reconsider the situation and disappeared once more.

And as he realized that he had failed, he blacked out.

* * *

The assailant was rushing through the woods. She gritted her teeth. Things were going really badly. She'd already taken care of the one who was tailing her, but she had a feeling that more would follow. She needed to get out of here quickly.

She was now staying close to the ground as she maneuvered past the trees with her gear. This way, it would be tougher for someone to spot her.

But then, she suddenly noticed someone in front of her. It was another person with black hair and a look of pure hatred on his face. The person drew both his swords and charged towards her. She managed to dodge them in the nick of time, by changing her course. However, the other person mirrored her movements and collided into her. Both of them crash landed a few meters away from each other. Before she could draw her swords, the person punched her hard in the face.

* * *

Eren engaged the person. He didn't give her an opportunity to try anything else as he riddled her with blows. The person took a step backward and then tried a low-kick which Eren dodged instinctively.

He then used a kick on his own. The person stepped back, avoiding the kick. They kept exchanging blows.

" _This isn't good_ " Eren thought. Slowly, he was beginning to tire and he wasn't sure how long he could hold out.

He dropped down and tried to sweep the person off the floor with his legs, but the person jumped high.

In that instance,Eren knew that he would lose, as the person raised her foot in the air and brought it down with great force as she descended.

It landed on Eren's shoulder with a crack and his hand now hung limply by his side. He yelled in pain.

The girl was a few meters away from him.

She slowly raised her hand. There was a blinding flash as something looking like a giant hand materialised in front of Eren and slammed him into a tree.

Eren screamed in anguish as he felt almost every bone in his body break.

The person dislodged her hand from the withering remains of the giant hand which stilll pinned Eren to the tree.

She walked to a barely conscious Eren.

"I'll ... I'll kill you." He whispered to her.

She caught his chin and forced him to look at her eyes.

"This is what it means.. to fight a Titan. If you survive this... you'll be a wiser person. "

Eren gave her another stare filled with hatred. Then he passed out.

* * *

 **The next day,**

Hanji walked out of the room and shut the door behind her.

She gave a deep sigh and turned to face the members of Eren's squad.

"How is he?" Krista asked him anxiously.

"He's not going to die..."

There was a collective sigh of relief from the group.

"But... he's suffered several deep injuries." She continued.

"But umm.. He's going to be fine , right?" asked Armin who looked like he was on the verge of bursting into tears.

Hanji looked at him darkly.

"He won't recover completely from something like this..."

Mikasa banged her fist on the wall.

"Stop beating around the bush! Tell me clearly, Is there something wrong with Eren?"

Hanji took a deep breath. "He can still help us out as an assistant or something... but..."

"but what..."

"Eren can no longer work in the Survey Corps."

Armin recoiled from the shock. He looked at Ryan who also seemed dejected.

 _'What's going to happen now?'_

* * *

 **FINALLY! This chapter is complete. What will happen next? What lies in store for humanity?  
**

 **Anyway, just wanted to discuss a few things with you guys.**

 **First, the... horse. Why is there a horse? (Shrugs shoulders). Does a horse really matter?** ** **(Shrugs shoulders)** However for those who have read the Heroes Of Olympus series, Rai was inspired (a bit)by Arion.  
**

 **Next, sorry for the delay. I don't get time with school and other stuff so I'm not able to write chapters as frequently as I'd like to.**

 **And finally, wish you all a happy Halloween!**


	10. Promise

**CHAPTER-10**

 **Promise**

 **Note: I don't own any of these characters**

* * *

Eren found himself, once again, in the deserted hall he had seen in his dreams. Once again, he saw the dark apparition which he had seen before.

"What do you want now?" He yelled at the apparition.

The apparition seemed to be distracted, He was mumbling something.

"Nope... she's not the one."

"What are you talking about?" Eren demanded.

"The coordinate. Oh.. sorry, you've never heard of it have you?" said the apparition and turned to Eren.

"Don't play games with me!" said Eren. "Why have you brought me here?"

The apparition shrugged."I didn't. You came here yourself."

Eren was confused. "I.. I.."

"So!" The apparition interrupted him "How's your life going on."

Eren didn't want to give the apparition any satisfaction. "It's not like I'm alone or anything. I've made friends too! You told me I had no one who cared about me, but now I have a bunch who'll always be my side!"

"Really?" The apparition asked him. "Then why is it that you were not able to trust them with the truth? Why is it that you still play hide-and-seek with them?"

"Because..." Eren wasn't able to finish his statement.

"Because you're in great pain." The person finished. "You've given up on the life you had hoped you would recover here."

Eren was silent.

"Yes.." The person shook his head sadly. "Bonds which are forged between people over a lifetime can not be replaced in a few months or even years. Especially that puppy of yours."

Eren wasn't sure who the person was talking about at first. Most of his friends had just been with him for a few months.

Then it hit him.

"You bastard!" He shouted.

The person looked up. "Well, it's true. Your sister really has no time to bother with you, does she? It must be hard. One day, she's following you like a pet, and the next day, she's treating you like you're nothing."

"No she isn't. She's treating me like a normal person. You're the one who's exaggerating." Eren shot back.

For a second, he thought he saw an amused smile on the apparition's face.

"Fine." He said at last. "We'll see how long you can manage. But, I'll promise one thing. When you need your friends the most, _they_ _will let you down_."

And then he was gone.

* * *

Eren opened his eyes. He became aware of an intense pain in every single part of his body. It was so bad that he couldn't even speak.

He was aware of the fact that he was in a comfortable bed and that he was covered in bandages from head to toe.

He moved his head to the right and saw someone sitting next to his bed.

"So, you're not dead after all, Eren."

It was Mikasa. Next to her was Joe.

Eren tried to get up, but Mikasa pushed him back with brutal strength.

"You don't need to hurt yourself any more." She warned him.

Eren stopped struggling.

"I heard about what happened from Ryan. I must say, you're naive. What were you thinking?... Did you imagine that you would be able to handle a situation like this on your own?" She said all of this in dark tone.

For some reason, her voice lifted Eren's spirit. It was nice to know that people were worrying about him. He would have smiled if his face didn't hurt so bad.

"You should know... the medical team tried to patch you up, but it seems like you can no longer be a part of the survey corps."

Eren's eyes widened.

"Well, at least that's what we thought before..." Mikasa continued "However, you've apparently got some some sort of resilience towards pain and injuries. The treatment was much more effective on you than a normal person. So they think you have a chance. It'll still take you a few months though."

Joe who hadn't said anything until now, groaned.

"Don't you think you should have broken it to him a bit more slowly." He said.

Mikasa shrugged. "It's better if he knew it as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, Eren wasn't really bothering with their conversation.

' _Few months, huh? Well, nuts to them. I'll recover before the expedition!"_

 _'But then again... How is it that I've not felt any of the effects of my regeneration yet.'_

And slowly, doubt crept into Eren's mind. What if his regeneration and Titan abilities didn't work in this universe? This was something he hadn't considered before.

If he couldn't recover in time, he knew what would happen. And that was why he _had_ to be there.

For now, he pushed all the thoughts out of his head and despite his best efforts to resist, he fell into the murky depths of his sub-consciousness.

* * *

Two days had passed. Eren was very worried now. Honestly, at some other time, he would have found his predicament amusing. Being afraid of not going on the expedition and facing killer-titans, that was weird.

He closed his eyes- which were pretty much the only parts of his body which he could move.

 _'There must be some other way..."_ He thought.

He waited for some time. Eventually, someone came to visit him. It was Jean.

"You're an idiot." was the first thing he said. "But you're lucky, you've got an excuse to skip the expedition."

Eren rolled his eyes. ' _Good, old Jean..'_

"I can't believe the others are feeling sad about you. If I were in your place,I..."

He sighed. "Well, It's my fault that I acted like a idiot and joined the Survey Corps instead of the Military Police."

He put his face in his hands."Well, I used to be a fool. But now I know the truth. They're out there and this is the only job that will make a difference."

And then he was silent.

This was one of the qualities in Jean that Eren admired (only a bit). He wasn't like the others who wanted to join the Survey corps just to show off or something. He had seen and experienced the horror of the Titans and he had still decided to join nevertheless.

This is what finally convinced Eren to speak.

" _Jean"_ He whispered, every syllable hurting him.

Jean's eyes widened. "What's the matter. Do you need something?"

" _Yes."_

 _"I need to speak... to Ryan..."_

He coughed violently. Jean hesitated.

Eren looked at him pleadingly.

Jean finally nodded. "Alright, I'll bring him."

He stood up and left the room.

A few minutes later, Ryan entered. He looked at Eren nervously.

"Did something happen, Eren?" He asked him.

" _I need.. a favour from you... no... a promise..."_

 _"_ A... promise? _"_

Eren nodded weakly.

With great difficulty,he managed to sit up.

And he spoke in a clear voice.

"Ryan.. there will be a time when you will be given a choice... whether to trust your team-members or not."

Ryan nodded to indicate that he understood.

"When you do get that choice... you must choose the latter."

Ryan recoiled.

"Are you asking me to not trust my team-mates?"

"It's not like that..." Eren replied. "All I'm asking you to have greater faith in yourself. You need to believe in yourself." His face turned white and he sank back into the bed."

Ryan wasn't completely sure if Eren was sane. This sort of proposition was just too weird. Had another part of Eren's memory resurfaced?

He balled his hands into fists. "And what if I'm not able to do it?" He asked.

Eren gave him one last look. "Then you're all dead." He said and remained silent after that.

* * *

 **The day of the expedition:  
**

The troops had assembled in front of the gates. Everything was in order. Titans in the vicinity were being kept away with cannon fire.

One of the officers turned and addressed the gathering.

"Soldiers! Today is the day mankind is going to take another step forward."

He raised his sword. "It is time for us to show the results of our training! This is our chance to accomplish something for the sake of humanity."

The soldiers cheered enthusiastically. The gates opened up.

"Advance!" Erwin shouted.

The troops stormed out.

The 57th expedition had begun.


	11. The Titan emerges

**Chapter-11**

 **The Titan emerges**

 **Note: I do not own any of these characters**

* * *

At the moment, it didn't look like anything would go wrong. As the troops moved outside Wall Rose, the defense squad did it's best to ensure that some of the titans which strayed by were immediately cut down before they could damage the formation.

The troops crossed Wall Maria and spread out into a gigantic arrow-like shape.

The soldiers were silent. Normally, one would find them in a jovial mood and ready for action, but now, they were just focusing keenly on their job.

In general, there were four categories of people among the Survey Corps.

First, the group of people who knew very little and talked too much.

Such as Joe.

"Man! I was so hyped about this, but it's boring! I wish someone would come and attack us already!"

"Are you stupid!" Connie yelled at him. "You should be happy that we're so lucky. And be on your guard. Who knows what could happen!"

"Be quite!" Christa warned the two. "You're attracting too much attention."

Next, were the people who were a bit more serious and talked less.

Such as Jean.

"Something's not right about this." He muttered.

"It's normal for people to feel like that Jean, so you shouldn't worry." said Petra Ral.

"Yeah and if those Titans come out of their stinking rat holes, I'll be the first one to tear them down!" said Oluo.

Jean sighed. "It's just that I feel that we shouldn't have rushed with this expedition thing."

"Nothing that's happened in the past can be changed. So it's best to forget it. All we can do now is move forward." Gunther advised.

Then there were the few who knew a lot but still stayed cool.

Such as Levi- Humanities greatest soldier.

"Grr .. This place reeks." He complained under his breath.

Eld Jinn- the second in command of Levi's squad was calm. "Just like Erwin predicted, the frequency of the Titan sightings here is much lower than it should be."

Levi turned to face Mikasa. "Oh, I heard that one of your teammates was seriously injured by that sneaky rat who killed those two Titans. So, How's he shaping up now?"

Mikasa gave him a stare which would have probably scared the living hell out of an ordinary person, but Levi didn't even flinch.

"May I ask you why you're interested." She said in a deadly voice.

Levi shrugged.

Mikasa looked down. Levi could sense the rage emanating from her.

"If I get my hands on that person.." She said "I will rip him apart."

Levi sneered. "Really? what happened to all that talk of yours about not keeping revenge as a motive."

"It isn't just revenge." Mikasa said firmly. "It's about setting an example." She looked at the gates which were now fading into the distance. "Fear is a powerful tool. I learned about it the hard way. And if anyone harms my comrades or betrays my trust, I will make sure they regret it."

After that there was silence.

Finally there were the two who knew too much for their own good and felt sick because of it.

Such as Ryan, who looked like he was surrounded by devils and jumped at the smallest of noises.

Other than Armin, there was no one within earshot which made it a bit easier for the two to converse.

"Ryan you really shouldn't be worried about this. You need to stay focused." Armin said.

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one who's being targeted by a blood-thirsty titan."

"I understand... If only Eren could recollect exactly what happened it woul have been much easier for us."

Ryan nodded. He rubbed his eyes and he looked like he was exhausted.

Armin noticed this. "Is there something else which is troubling you?"

Ryan shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

"Armin?"

"Yeah?"

"Hypothetically, if I was given a choice- to trust Eren or... the rest of the squad, What do you think I should do?"

Armin eyed him suspiciously. "Why? Did Eren tell you something?"

Ryan nodded.

Armin considered it. "Well Ryan, this might sound stupid, but I feel that if you're in a bad situation,You're the one who can analyze it the best and therefore, the one who makes the decision shouldn't be Eren or anyone else. It should be you."

"You mean to say that I should decide on my own."

"I'm saying that you can get advice from others, but in the end- it's up to you."

Ryan thought about it. _'Well, it does look like the best thing to do... but I don't think I'm strong enough."_

And then, they saw a single projectile in the sky. It was a red smoke bomb.

A Titan had been spotted.

* * *

Eren's head ached like crazy. He didn't know which pain was worse, the one in his mind or his whole body.

It had started an hour ago when He had fallen asleep, but now.. things were getting much worse. He could feel the tension in his bones and flesh. It was like there was some poison in his body which was resisting his regeneration.

Once, he had even tried to leave the room hoping to join the rest of the Survey Corps but he had collapsed before he even reached the door.

He was then put back in his bed and got a nasty scolding from the nurse.

He grimaced as another memory hit him.

 _The time when he had fallen inside the bearded titan's mouth. The feeling as the Titan's jaws closed, severing his hand in the process. The horror he felt as he slid down the Titan's throat.  
_

He tried to get out of his bed, but he felt another shock in his head and he fell on the floor.

 _He saw Gunther's body fly past him, his head nearly severed from his body._

 _He saw The female titan mercilessly bite Eld in half and spit him out._

 _He saw Petra getting smashed in a tree and Oluo's body getting decimated by a kick._

And he could no longer control his tears.

' _So many people... dead because of me. So many lives lost'_

"Why!" He yelled, smashing his fist repeatedly into the floor, ignoring the pain in his shoulders and the fact that his hands were bleeding profusely.

"Why do I always fail ?" He screamed,punctuating each word with another punch to the floor. His surroundings momentarily turned bleary.

And then he looked up and saw the blue titan. Thousands of smaller titans surrounded them and screeched as if to cheer them on. The Titan sneered at him.

"Broken already, Eren?"

Eren's pain turned to anger as he transformed and lunged at the Titan.

* * *

Just a few minutes after the first Titan had been sighted, someone had fired a black smoke bomb- indicating the presence of a deviant class titan. Such a Titan couldn't simply be avoided. It had to be taken down.

Luckily, the soldiers facing it were two of the most capable fighters in the Corps- Ness and Cis.

Ness jumped of from the horse and swung around one of the Titan's legs. He used his momentum to help make a deep cut the Titan's foot.

As the Titan slipped and fell forward, Cis sprang into action and delivered a powerful slash to the nape of the Titan's neck, killing it.

Before the two could celebrate, they spotted another Titan charging towards them. They proceeded to join the rest of the people.

However as Cis turned to look back at the Titan,he felt a chill run down his spine.

The Titan was now running extremely fast. It jumped over the two and continued to sprint towards the center of the formation.

" _We have to stop her!"_ Cis thought as he and Ness both jumped off their horses once again.

Both of them used their gear to swing towards the New Titan.

But as Cis advanced towards the Titan, He realised that this was no ordinary Titan. It had a muscular build and definitely looked.. feminine.

He saw a giant hand advancing towards him. It was too late to change course. He closed his eyes and accepted his inevitable fate.

The Titan caught the soldier and mercilessly crushed him in her hand.

Before Ness could register the death of his friend, He saw the Titan grab the rope which led to his gear and swung him into the ground.

The Titan then continued it's journey towards the center, having something which looked suspiciously like a wicked grin on her face.

" _He is near." She thought.  
_

* * *

As the two squads reached the forests.,Armin noticed a single black streak in the air far away.

Normally this wouldn't have perturbed him much.

But then, he saw several other streaks rise into the air ,turning the sky dark.

And his heart beat harder and harder.

" _She's coming."_

* * *

 **Well this chapter is done. How will the two squads handle this new threat? And what in the world is happening to Eren!  
**

 **Find out in the penultimate chapter of the Female Titan Arc!**


	12. The Trap

**Chapter-12**

 **The Trap**

 **Note: I do not own any of these characters.**

 **Arya Scarlett 14:** Wow, that's confusing.

 **Reply:** Yep, it definitely is.

 **Phoenix:** wait, what? a titan? where did he come from? what is going on, I hope Eren saves them all. Despite what ryan does. who is he, ryan perhaps? where r u eren when they need u now!

i forgot to add that, hooray! eren transformed, but what was the problem with regeneration? and wait, Mikasa cares?! who knew!

 **Reply:** Ok, gotta apologize. I wrote the previous chapter in such a way as to _intentionally confuse the_ reader. Obviously, I've got my reasons but things will become clearer in this chapter.(Hopefully)

 **On with the chapter**

* * *

The two members of the medical squad looked at the boy lying down in his bed. He was twitching violently and had a look of pure hatred on his face, even though he wasn't conscious.

"What in the world is going on with him?" The first person wondered.

The other person shrugged. "This is the second time I found him out of his bed. And this time, He was even muttering things about killing someone."

"And what happened to his hand?"

"Isn't it obvious? He bit it. Just like that... I can only imagine how much he was suffering."

"If he does anything like that once again, we might have to restrain him." The first person said sternly. "He's already badly injured! We can't allow him to harm himself any more!"

* * *

Eren had finally destroyed the blue Titan. He fell to his knees and looked at his hands which were stained with the Titan's bluish-green blood. And he was slowly overwhelmed by the army of smaller titans.

" **Leave him."**

The titans were suddenly pushed back from Eren by some invisible force and the scene changed. Eren, now in his human form, looked at the person who had managed to scare the other Titans and all he saw was the limp body of the blue Titan. However, right before his eyes the Blue Titan shrank and slowly changed into someone Eren had seen before. It was the dark apparition.

Eren looked at his body and then at the apparition again. His expression was one of shock and fear. "Do you mean.. to say ... that this was all a dream or something, or was it real?"

The apparition gave him a nasty smile. " It's both."

" _This is crazy!" Eren thought._

* * *

The Female Titan sprinted into the giant forest.

' _He's somewhere here. I know it.'_ She thought.

Meanwhile, Mikasa had spread out her squad so that everyone was at the outer edge of the forest.

"This way, we will be able to divert the attention of any Titan who might otherwise make our mission a bit more difficult" She explained. "So stay there and don't come down until I tell you to."

Saying that, she proceeded inside the forest, along with the Special Operations squad and Ryan.

Levi looked at Mikasa's other companion with disgust. It was Joe.

"Why's the joker here?" Levi demanded.

Mikasa stared at him like he was crazy. "Joe isn't the dumb fool everyone makes him out to be. He's a brilliant soldier and proficient with the 3dmg gear. He might be able to give you a run for your money."

Joe tried to look cool and flex his muscles.

Levi shrugged. "I doubt that."

Joe dropped the 'cool dude' act and sighed. "Could we talk about something else like rabbits, or flowers,or stars, or the fact that you guys are still not telling me anything about our mission!"

Mikasa unsheathed her sword and stared at the blade. "Did you say something, Joe?"

Joe gulped. "Nope, absolutely not ma'am"

Mikasa put the sword away.

As the team raced forward, they suddenly felt tremors in the ground.

Levi's horse skidded to a stop as he tried to pin-point the source of the sound.

He closed his eyes.

The tremors were getting stronger and stronger.

He opened his eyes once again.

"This way." He announced.

The whole team started moving away from the source- pushing their horses to the limit.

In a matter of seconds, the Titan had caught up with them.

When Ryan first saw the Titan, he was so horrified that he almost stopped in his tracks. Levi had to yell at him to keep him moving.

He was sweating.

 _'Eren was right. The vibe given off by this titan is definitely different from the other Titans. While the others seemed like stupid monsters, This Titan feels like a cold-blooded killer who will do anything to achieve her goal.'_ He thought.

The titan was moving extremely fast and the only reason why the team was maintaining their distance from her was because they were constantly dodging past the giant trees.

Still, it was just a matter of time before she reached them.

And then, from the corner of his eyes, Armin saw two soldiers hurtling towards the Titan.

One of them headed directly towards the Titans nape, hoping to land a killing blow. Immediately, the Titan brought her hand up, covering her weak point while using her other hand to crush the body of the soldier.

Ryan was horrified.

 _'She killed him.'_

"She's protecting her weak spot!" Levi yelled.

However, the second soldier payed no attention to him. Furious about the death of his comrade, he and a few others engaged the Titan.

They shot their grappling hooks at the Titan and attacked her from various angles.

 _'They can do it!'_ Ryan thought.

But the Titan simply jumped high and whirled her arms, swinging the soldiers around and smashing them into the surrounding trees. She even caught one in her mouth and bit hard. She landed, and proceeded to spit out the remains of the dead soldier.

Ryan's fear changed to anger. This Titan was killing innocent people without even giving them a second thought. He brought his hand close to his mouth.

He wasn't the only one who was furious. Joe had pulled out both of his swords.

"If any of you defies my orders, I promise I will kill you!" Mikasa yelled.

Ryan and Joe turned away from the Titan with great difficulty.

Behind them, The Titan was brutally killing everyone in her path. Ryan couldn't stop himself. He started sobbing.

"I'm going to transform,I can't let her kill anymore people." He cried out.

"Ryan, think before you act. All these people are dying for a reason. If you transform right now, they would have died for nothing." Petra warned him.

Ryan's eyes widened. He hadn't thought of it that way. Feeling embarrassed, he slowly brought his hand down.

They kept charging forward.

' _What in the world are they planning?'_ He wondered.

Once again, the Female Titan was catching up with them. She was no longer being attacked by soldiers from the survey corps.

Ryan was moving as fast as he could. But when he looked up, he saw that the Titan had already reached him.

She slowly brought her hand towards Ryan, trying to grab him.

Ryan closed his eyes.

Then he heard someone bark a single command. "Fire!"

And then there was a sound of several harpoons being launched at once.

Ryan opened his eyes.

The Titan was trapped. She had only been able to cover the nape of her neck with her hands, but her body had been riddled with hundreds of harpoons-the end result being that her movements were completely restricted.

As soon as she started to struggle, Another round was fired at her. This time, the harpoons had been replaced with sturdy metal spikes.

 _'It worked!'_ Ryan thought. Instead of simply eliminating the Titan they had actually managed to capture her!

Now they would know the identity of the shifter. Ryan felt a chill in his bones at the thought.

 _'Still... I wonder why another human being would turn against us.'_

He felt a heavy weight on his shoulder. He turned and nearly screamed. Next to him, resting her hand on his shoulder was Mikasa Ackerman. She had a really nasty look on her face.

"So... Do you still feel like transforming now?" She asked him, as she started applying pressure to his shoulders.

Ryan flinched. "N-no... it's fine."

"Sure?"

"Y-yes."

Mikasa nodded and withdrew her hand, now focusing on the Titan.

Hanji Zoe was now standing on a branch and goggling at the Titan with a greedy look in her eyes.

"This is so cool! I'm going to have some fun with you! First, we're gonna get you out of this Titan body. Then we're gonna dissect you and drill a hole in your head-"

"Hanji!" Petra yelled.

"Ok,ok. I'll talk about it later." Hanji grumbled.

The Female Titan was now completely at their mercy. Only one thing was left to do- discover the identity of the person inside the body.

Levi used his gear and landed on the Titan's back.

"Listen up,Titan Shifter. You've killed a lot of my comrades, so I'm not going to be very nice with you." He said with an evil look on his face.

Ryan almost felt sorry for the Titan as she struggled fruitlessly.

Levi raised both his swords.

Everyone was silent. Levi brought down both the swords with all his might.

And the swords clashed against the Titan's hands and shattered. Levi got a glimpse of a weird crystalline structure which had formed on her hands.

He looked annoyed.

"So you can harden your skin,huh? That's too bad... "

He turned to his squad. "Guys, I need your help. We need to get her hands out of the way, So you've got to attack her whole arm instead. Let's see how good her 'armour' is."

The special operations squad readied themselves.

But the Female Titan had had enough.

She opened her mouth and shrieked. It was so loud that the soldiers had to cover their ears.

Ryan scanned his surroundings.

 _'What was that sound?'_

And in a moment, the Female Titan's plan became clear.

She had sent some sort of distress signal to the Titans in the vicinity. And they were now rushing towards her immobile body.

The Members of the Survey Corps were forced to retreat to the safety of the trees and watch helplessly as the Titan's pounced on the Titan shifter.

"Wha- what are they doing?" Ryan asked, unable to hide the fear from his voice.

Mikasa stared at the scene. "They're devouring her. She's self-destructing."

Levi landed next to Mikasa. His usually calm face now looked a bit concerned.

"Mikasa, take Ryan and my Squad members, and get away from here."

Mikasa was taken aback. "Why?" She asked him.

Levi snarled at her. "Just do it!"

An understanding passed between them and Mikasa turned around.

Meanwhile, as the Titans slowly devoured the Female Titan's body, an unidentifiable speck shot out from her body and was ignored by the Titans who continued to destroy the decaying carcass.

' _Must... capture... Ryan.'_

* * *

Eren looked at the apparition.

"I've decided." He announced.

The apparition approached him. "You have? Go on!"

"I will no longer fight you. It's no use. Instead, I'm going to accept you."

The apparition smirked.

"Well done, Eren Yaeger."

* * *

 **The Female Titan has used her trump card. What's next? And what's going to happen to Eren?**

 **Find out in the next chapter.**

 **Note:The upcoming finale for this arc will be split into two chapters.**


	13. Convergence Part-1

**Chapter-13**

 **CONVERGENCE**

 **PART-1**

 **NOTE: I do not own any of these characters**

* * *

Joe was really confused. First off, why were they heading away from the scene with such urgency? And why was everyone so worried?

Levi had gone to stock up on fuel and get a new pair of swords, So it was only him, Mikasa, Ryan and the other members of the Special Operation Squad.

Mikasa kept glancing behind as if she expected someone to spring on them at any time.

"So... Where are we going?" He asked for the umpteenth time.

As usual, no one bothered to reply. Joe sighed.

After some time, Eld Jinn looked behind and announced. "We're being followed."

Mikasa perked up. "Really? By whom?"

Eld frowned. "I don't know. But she's really good with her gear. We need to be on our guard."

Gunther jumped off his horse and used his gear to propel himself upwards. "I'll stay here and hold her off." He said. "You guys take care of Ryan."

Ryan had a bad feeling about this. He saw something flit through the trees.

Mikasa had seen it too.

"Change your course!" She warned Gunther.

Instinctively, Gunther did exactly that. He swooped down just in time, avoiding a sword by a few millimeters.

The person who had attacked him swore. She brought her hand to her mouth.

Joe's jaws fell open.

"We are so screw-"

 **BOOM!** **  
**

There was a flash of light.

Something which Ryan recognized very well.

The Female Titan had returned.

* * *

Eren looked at the apparition.

"I've decided." He announced.

The apparition approached him. "You have? Go on!"

"I will no longer fight you. It's no use. Instead, I'm going to accept you."

The apparition smirked.

"Well done, Eren Yeager. Have you finally understood what you're supposed to do?"

Eren nodded. "I've given up on my previous life for now. At the moment, there's something else I need to do which is more important."

"And that would be?"

"Saving my friends and beating the hell out of someone."

"Someone?" The Apparition asked him.

Eren took a deep breath. "Annie- Annie Leonhardt. I'm going to stop her."

* * *

"Joe! Protect Ryan" Mikasa yelled.

She zipped towards the Titan. At the same time, a blur of blades appeared on the other side of the Titan. Levi had returned.

Both of them engaged the Female Titan.

The duo were incredibly fast and their movements were very well coordinated, thus making it nearly impossible for the Female titan to tag them.

Levi was an absolute demon, ripping through the titans arms and legs as if they were made of paper. Mikasa's attacks, though less brutal, were equally effective.

Ryan noticed someone approaching from the distance.

"I thought all of you were returning to the walls." he muttered.

Armin shook his head. "I slipped away. I need to see this too the end. Like Eren said, it is essential for us to stop this titan."

The rest of the Special Operation squad had also joined the fray. And they were winning. Though the Titan was able to protect her weak spots, she was taking a lot of hits and with each step she took towards Ryan, she was getting weaker and weaker.

And that's when things started going wrong. The Titan suddenly took a deep breath. Ryan sensed that something bad was going to happen.

Then the Titan bellowed so loudly that she shook the ground itself.

It was as if she unleashed a wave of pure energy around her.

The attackers lost control of their gear. They slowed down and crashed into the ground. It wasn't enough to kill them, but sufficient to make them lose their bearings.

Mikasa crashed hard into a tree. She gripped her shoulder and it seemed like she'd hurt her arm pretty badly. She wouldn't be able to help them much. The others suffered the same fate. A few of them who were closest to the Titan had been knocked out completely. Levi had also seemed to have hurt his legs badly during his fall, and he was barely conscious.

The Female Titan who stood in the center, was breathing heavily. That scream had used up a significant portion of her stamina.

Joe's jaws hung wide open.

"Wha- What in the world.."

"She used some sort of high-pitched scream to incapacitate the soldiers." Armin explained.

He didn't mention what was now very obvious.

Him, Ryan and Joe were the only ones who would be able to take on the Titan.

Joe finally unsheathed his swords. He had a crazy grin on his face and was ready to attack.

But someone had already beaten him to it. It was Ryan.

' _I won't let anyone suffer because of me. I don't want to be a burden anymore.'_

He used his gear to catapult him towards the Female Titan.

' _To hell with the survey corps and to hell with Eren! This time I'll decide on my own!'_

He brought his hand to his mouth.

' _This time, I'll protect everyone!"_

And he bit hard into his hand, tearing through his flesh like a rabid dog as he zoomed towards the Female Titan's head.

And what collided with the Titan's face wasn't a tiny,wimpy kid but a fully grown 14-meter Titan.

The impact was enough to send the Female Titan flying a few dozen meters away.

Ryan's Titan form, though a bit shorter than the Female Titan, was much more intimidating. He faintly resembled his human form.

However, his Titan body was really ripped and compact. Even by Titan's standards, he looked terribly strong.

He also had a wider, more pronounced jaw and the structure of his teeth almost made it look like he was grinning. But the key difference was in his eyes. They showed a completely different side of him- a caged beast who yearned to be free.

Ryan threw his head back and roared.

Joe almost set off to support him, but was stopped by Mikasa.

"Stay back, Joe. You'll only get in the way." She warned him.

She analyzed her surroundings, noting that Petra seemed to be conscious too.

Joe gritted his teeth. "I want to help him."

Mikasa flinched as she touched her broken arm.

Armin noticed this. "Mikasa I think you should retreat. You can't do anything with a shoulder like that."

Mikasa glared at him. "Be quiet and listen carefully."

* * *

Eren woke up, panting. He felt a sudden pain in his head and gripped it. His whole body was smoking, burning.

Then the pain subsided. Eren flexed his arms.

He still felt a bit tired, but his injuries had disappeared completely.

He jumped out of his bed and ripped off his bandages.

The two members of the medical squad in the room gaped at him, but Eren ignored them as he left the room.

He slowly walked towards the gate. The members of the Survey corps were slowly filing in through them. They all had dejected looks on their faces.

Eren stopped one of them and asked him about what was going on.

"Haven't ya heard the News? Seems Commander Erwin and some of his soldiers are taking care of some 'threat' in the Forest of Giant Trees. They've sent all of us back while they're dealing with it."

The nature of the threat in question was obvious to Eren.

' _This is bad. If so much has happened already then I wont be able to reach them before it's too late!'_

He balled his hands into fists. Was this how it was going to end? Was there no other option for him?

 _S_ uddenly, there was a commotion in front of him. Eren couldn't see anything clearly because of the crowd, but soldiers were being pushed out of the way by something.

One of the soldiers broke away from the crowd and yelled "Somebody stop that crazy horse!"

' _A_ _Horse?_ '

And finally, a majestic beast broke through the crowd and walked up to Eren.

It was Ryan's horse- Rai.

Eren narrowed his eyes. ' _What's he doing here?'_

And then his face split into a grin.

' _I've just got the most crazy idea!'_

He mounted the grey horse and bent low.

"Come on, Rai. Time to save your best friend." He whispered into the horse's ear.

The Horse rushed through the gates, leaving the soldiers with eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.

* * *

Ryan pounced on the Female Titan and wrestled her to the ground. He started punching her mercilessly.

She blocked all his punches, putting her hands above her face. This did not discourage Ryan in the least as he kept pummeling her.

He raised his hand to deliver another punch, But the Female Titan moved her head out of the way. The impact of Ryan's fist with the ground had obliterated it and before it could regenerate, the Female Titan pushed him away with her hands, then pulled her legs back in such a way that her knees nearly touched her chin. She released them and slammed her feet into Ryan's chest, sending him flying into a Giant tree and cracking the bark. He growled and got up, his hand back to normal.

This time he ran towards her and delivered a full powered punch. She met it with a punch of her own.

Ryan's hand was destroyed once more. He looked at his own smoking hand and then at the crystalline structure which coated the Female Titan's.

Then he continued to attack her.

Levi cursed under his breath. "He's not going to beat her at this rate."

They watched as the Female Titan gave another blow to Ryan. Ryan tried to counter with one of his own but the Female Titan dodged it. Then she used a full haymaker on him. It connected with his face.

"No!" Armin yelled.

But when the dust cleared, Ryan was holding the Female Titan's hand in his jaws. She tried to pull it out of the way but he bit harder, crushing her hand completely.

Using his teeth, he hurled her into another tree. And he ran towards her and jumped, getting ready to deliver the finishing blow.

But their eyes met and Ryan suddenly remembered something from his days at the 104th trainee squad.

 _'A kind smile. A person with blonde hair who had always been nice to him.'_

The moment of hesitation was all the Female Titan needed. She rolled out of the way. Ryan banged his head into the trees bark and didn't move after that.

The Female Titan slowly got up and looked at Ryan's body.

"Wake up, Ryan!" Petra yelled.

But it was of no use. The Female Titan took a step towards Ryan.

 _'I'm sorry... everyone_ ' Ryan thought.

And the female Titan smashed the heel of her foot into the back of his head, destroying it instantly.

For a moment, everyone stared at the body of the defeated Titan.

The female Titan slowly bent down and started ripping the flesh on Ryan's back using her teeth.

Joe knelt down, ready for action. Mikasa, Petra and Armin stood behind him.

The female Titan ripped out enough flesh to expose Ryan's limp body. She moved her mouth closer to Ryan's head.

She opened her jaws a bit wider. Ryan slowly opened his eyes, gazing into the jaws of death.

A giant tongue writhed a few inches away, dropping saliva on him.

Ryan felt something well up inside him. It was fear. Pure, unadulterated fear. He was going to be devoured, like so many others he had seen. He was going to become another martyr for the cause.

Ryan had never felt so useless before.

He was halfway inside the Titan's mouth now. She was going to bite him any moment now, maybe rip Ryan in half.

He braced himself.

What came next wasn't something he expected.

The Survey Corp's last card. The loose cannon.

"BOOYAH!" Joe yelled.

A gigantic cut appeared on the Titan's face, damaging her eyes. A second later, a number of scratches and wounds erupted across her face.

It was as if all hell was breaking loose.

Armin grabbed Ryan, pulled him out of the decaying flesh and took him to a safe distance.

He gaped at Joe, who was probably having the time of his life.

He was so fast, his movements so difficult to track, that it looked like he was at several places at once. The Female Titan was completely clueless.

' _It's no surprise that he's this good. After all, his elder sister was the Scouting Legion's greatest find.'_

Mikasa and Petra attacked the Titan from behind. Once again, The Titan had brought her hand to cover the nape of her neck and Mikasa and Petra were slashing at it ruthlessly.

The Female Titan roared. She turned and swung her other hand at the two of them.

Petra's eyes widened.

' _This is the end for us.'_

But Joe appeared in the nick of time, grabbing the two and moving away. Though he managed to avoid a solid blow, the Female Titan's hand roughly brushed against his back.

This knocked the wind out of Joe. He and the two girls spiraled downwards. He managed to connect a grappling hook to a branch in the nick of time, breaking their fall. He landed next to Armin and Ryan.

His gear had been battered because of the Titan's attack. He threw it away, cursing.

They had tried so hard. They had used every trick possible, but it still hadn't been enough to stop the Female Titan.

He punched a tree in a fit of anger. Mikasa stared down at her shoes, her hand laying limp by her side. Petra lay on the floor, looking completely exhausted. Ryan leaned against Armin, staring at the one who was responsible for this mess.

The Female Titan slowly knelt to the ground. Her body started smoking. An opening appeared in the back of her neck.

A person emerged from the hole. She looked around, at all the wreckage. Then, she turned and limped towards the group of soldiers.

Ryan felt a stab of pain in his heart as he recognized the person.

"Annie" he muttered.

She stopped a few meters from them.

"Yes" She said at last. "It's me."

Joe dropped his swords and sank to his knees. "It's... it's really you... The one who killed all those innocent people."

"No!" Mikasa yelled. "This can't be true."

She looked demented and Armin understood why. Annie had been one of the only people she had trusted completely.

"Tell me that you've been framed! That this is someone else's fault!" She shouted violently.

Ryan lay motionless, the shock too great for him to comprehend.

' _She was so nice to me. I thought she cared... about us'_ He thought.

Annie shook her head. "I'm afraid this is the truth, Mikasa. You have to accept it."

Mikasa looked like she had been shot.

Ryan couldn't stop his tears from flowing. Was he going to lose everything he treasured? Was his life some sort of game?

Armin looked sad, but not shocked.

 _'_ _He had already guessed it.'_ Ryan realized.

Annie took a deep breath.

 _"_ I'm tired of this." She said.

Everyone stared at her.

"I'm tired of killing people. I've done it in the past, to complete my objectives, but this is difficult for me to handle."

"Why?" Joe asked her with a dark voice. "You've killed so many people just for the sake of it. Why would we be any different to you?"

Annie closed her eyes. "It's because... " She took a deep breath "Because... despite my best intentions, I've grown.. to care for all of you. No matter how hard I try, there's a part of me which holds me back, not allowing me to hurt the people who were once my comrades."

Petra, who had been silent till now, spat on the ground. "Get to the point! What is it that you want?"

Annie sighed. "Give me Ryan Blake. Surrender him to me and I will leave the rest of you in peace. Give him up now and I will leave you all alone. But if you disagree.."  
She snarled at them. "Then I'll kill all of you."

No one spoke for a few seconds as they considered this.

Then they all walked in front of Ryan.

"If you want him.." Mikasa told her. "You'll have to go through us."

Annie glared at them.

She brought her hand to her mouth. "Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you.".

Before she could bite her hand, she heard something strange. It sounded like a horse was neighing.

She brought her hand down and stared in the direction of the source.

And then she saw a horse dash past the trees.

The horse burst into the opening, noticed Ryan and rushed towards him.

Someone jumped of the horse and landed face down on the ground, between Annie and Mikasa's group.

When Mikasa saw who it was, her mouth hung open.

The horse went to Ryan and nuzzled against him. He petted it, wondering what was going on.

"Who brought you here, Rai ?" He asked.

"It's him."

Ryan turned to see Levi limping towards them. He was followed by the other members of the special operations squad who looked banged up,but fine otherwise.

"Eren Yeagar." He finished watching as the person in the center grabbed his stomach and groaned.

Mikasa opened her mouth to warn Eren about Annie but Eren silenced her by raising his hand.

"Just give me a second. That damn horse is too fast!"

He took a deep breath, suppressing his nausea and turned to face Annie. She looked at him in an uninterested manner.

"You're Eren Yeagar, the guy everyone's talking about these days." She noted.

"And you're Annie Leonhardt- the Female Titan shifter and former member of the 104th trainee squad." Eren shot back.

' _What is Eren doing here?'_ Ryan wondered.


	14. CONVERGENCE PART-2

**CHAPTER-14:**

 **CONVERGENCE**

 **PART-2**

 **Note: I do not own any of these characters**

* * *

Mikasa shifted uncomfortably. If he wasn't part of the trainee squad, how in the world did he know Annie? And how did he know that they were in this part of the forest?

"I thought he was badly injured or something..." Levi noted.

It took some time for Ryan to completely register what Levi was saying. And when it did, it shocked him.

"Yeah..." he muttered. "He was.."

Armin nodded. "Now it makes sense..."

Ryan glared at him. "What are you talking about!" He yelled. "What part of this seems right to you! A week ago, every bone in his body was broken and now he's completely fine!"

Armin turned to him and Ryan noticed that he was trying his best to control himself.

"Did it ever strike you, Ryan , that the stories Eren told us about the Titan shifter seemed to be extraordinarily accurate ?"

Armin's voice echoed in the silence. He wasn't really bothering to maintain secrecy anymore. After everything which had happened, he knew he couldn't hide the truth from the rest of the group.

Ryan thought about it. "Yeah... they were."

"And don't you think he was able to understand you're feelings as a Titan-shifter remarkably well?"

"Armin, what are you bickering about." Mikasa said sternly, but Armin didn't respond.

Ryan balled his hands into fists. "Are you saying that Eren had some sort of connection with this Titan shifter that we weren't aware about?"

Armin shook his head, frustrated that Ryan wasn't understanding something which seemed so obvious.

"Ryan, Eren doesn't have any connection with a Titan-shifter. _He is the Titan-Shifter_."

There was silence. Eren neither denied nor confirmed it. He continued to stare at Annie who didn't seem to be particularly bothered either.

"What did you say?" Mikasa whispered.

Some of the soldiers took a step away from Eren.

Armin knew it was true. He also knew that the others would take it negatively. But he was tired of hiding things from his comrades.

Mikasa addressed Eren. "Eren, is this true? Have you been hiding things from us?"

Eren looked down, ashamed of himself.

Mikasa's face contorted. She started heading towards Eren. Joe caught her from behind, barely managing to restrain her.

"You dirty dog..." She said. "It seems I was wrong about you. I thought you were an over-ambitious fool with heart but no guts. But it turns out you're just the opposite. You're nothing but scum."

"Mikasa..." Petra said.

Ryan couldn't blame her. He felt betrayed too. He no longer knew what to do. Did everyone have to be like this? Maybe this was the way of the world. Maybe he had been too blind to notice it earlier.

Mikasa pushed Joe away.

"I will kill you... both of you." She said to Eren and Annie. "I will not rest until the world is purged of people like you, who break other people's trust!"

Eren looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"Mikasa.. if you want to kill me.. I'll gladly accept it. In fact ,I'll accept any punishment dealt to me." He said. "But please don't do anything to Armin or Ryan. It's not their fault after all. I'm the only one who is to blame."

Mikasa was taken aback by this sudden submission of his. She didn't say anything.

Ryan was touched. Maybe Eren had hidden things from him, but that didn't mean he wasn't a good person.

"So.. everything you said to us was a lie?" Joe said.

Eren shook his head, completely disregarding Annie.

"Not everything. Besides, even if I had told you the truth, you wouldn't have believed me." He replied.

He turned back to Annie who sized him up.

"So.." She said. "You're the person who attacked me in the forest. I thought you would have learnt something from that day."

"I did" Eren replied. "I'm not going to go easy on you this time."

Annie raised an eyebrow. "Go easy?"

"Yep" Eren said as he walked towards Annie until they were a meter apart.

He continued. "But before that, I'll give you a choice."

"Why don't you surrender to us. Give up your mission. Tell us about the people who are forcing you to do this. The humans aren't your enemy, Annie. And I know that there is still some good inside you. "

Annie looked amused. "Wow! Now you're giving me two options! How ironic!"

Eren gritted his teeth. "Annie, You probably wont believe me, but we have already fought. And I can promise you that there is no way you'll beat me. The first option is the better one."

The soldiers gaped at Eren as he coolly talked to Annie. However, only Ryan and Armin were able to understand what Eren was saying completely.

' _H_ _e and Annie fought once before. And Eren beat her."_ Ryan guessed. He was just beginning to realize how dangerous Eren was.

Annie's smiled changed to a frown. "For some reason, I find you annoying, Eren Yaegar. You remind me of someone else who I felt was too confident for his own good."

"Who was it?" Eren shot back. "Your father?"

Annie's expression underwent several changes. From shock, to fear, to cold fury and then to a psychotic smile.

She looked up at the sky, and then towards the setting sun.

She giggled like a small kid.

"Eren... as a Titan Shifter... I don't really try to devour or consume people. Usually, I just kill them."

She looked again at Eren, the murderous intent on her face crystal clear.

She continued. "But for you, Eren Yaegar, I think I'll make an exception. I'll show you the reason why Humans fear Titans. I yearn to know how you''ll taste..."

She licked her lips greedily.

Armin's legs were shaking. Though he wasn't the one who was being threatened, he was still tempted to run away. _'He's in trouble...'_ He thought.

But even this threat hadn't fazed Eren.

He shrugged. "I've already been consumed by Titans- Twice in fact. So I'm not particularly anxious to do it a third time."

Armin had no idea what he was talking about.

Annie still had the psychotic smile on her face.

The wind blew past the two shifters.

Ryan could feel it. The confrontation was coming closer and closer.

Once again Mikasa advanced towards the two, but in a flash, Levi had appeared in front of her and banged the hilt of his sword onto her head.

"Levi!" Petra yelled at him.

Mikasa had a dreamy look in her eyes as she fell forward. Levi caught her and grunted.

' _Damn! She's heavy!'_ He thought.

Eren gaped at them. It would have been a comical sight under normal circumstances- Levi barely managing to keep Mikasa from falling as she towered over his short form. But now wasn't the time.

"Hey you shitty brat!" Levi yelled. "I've taken care of your distractions... She'll be fine. You focus on beating the snot out of that Titan." He limped away, lugging Mikasa on his back.

Eren grinned. "Thanks, Levi... I owe you one."

Annie slowly brought her hand towards her mouth and Eren mirrored her movements.

"Ryan, before we start, I wanted to thank you." He said.

Ryan was confused "Thank me? I did nothing right. In the end I was useless."

"You managed to protect my friends- Petra, Levi, Oluo, Eld, Gunther... You did what I never could. And for that I'll always be grateful to you."

His eyes were covered by his hair, but Ryan guessed that he was cracking up.

The Special Operations Squad members obviously thought that he was crazy.

Annie's hand was a millimeter from her mouth. Eren's too.

And at the same time, they bit their hands and transformed.

Joe couldn't see them first as they were covered with smoke.

Then as the smoke cleared, Annie's form came into view, while Eren's was still concealed.

And then Joe saw the shadow of the Titan which seemed to dwarf Annie.

The smoke cleared completely.

Joe's jaw fell open.

"Son of a..."

In front of Annie stood the new Titan. He was around 15 meters tall, had long black hair which grazed his shoulders. His mouth had a jagged shape and somewhat resembled Ryan's. His tongue and ears were slightly elongated and he had a prominent hooked nose.

Eren took a step backward and roared. Annie slowly covered her fists with a hard crystalline structure. She stepped in and delivered a punch. Eren dodged it easily. Annie tried another one but Eren ducked underneath it.

 _'What is he_ _doing_?" Joe wondered _._

Eren kept dodging Annie's punches. Finally, Annie decided to use another approach. She took another step forward, while bending her body backward. She went for a low kick, aiming at Eren's shin.

Eren jumped up and rammed his foot into Annie's knee. Annie lost her footing and crashed into the ground.

Eren grabbed her foot and swung her into a tree. Annie spat out blood. She slid down, her back against the tree.

But Eren wasn't done yet. He pulled her away from the tree and kneed her in the face. The impact would have sent her back, but Eren grabbed her head and smashed his head into her face. He left Annie, who took a few steps back, dazed by this sudden display of aggression. Eren ran to her, jumped and rammed his feet into Annie's stomach sending her flying back.

Armin's eyes bulged. _'He never showed this sort of energy when he fought Mikasa..'_

Annie got up. She was badly injured. Half of her face was smoking because of the attack. Slowly, her face regenerated. She got into a fighting stance.

Eren planted one leg firmly on the ground and then unleashed a full-fledged kick towards the side of Annie's head.

Joe's eyes widened. _'That's one of Mikasa's techniques.'_ He thought.

Annie ducked down, dodging the blow.

Eren used the momentum of his previous kick to deliver another one. This time it was a low kick.

Joe's eyes bulged even more. ' _And now he's using one of Annie's techniques!'_

The second kick managed to sweep Annie off her feet. She fell sideways.

Eren tried to punch her, but Annie rolled out of the way.

She came up standing, only to see Eren pull both his hands back.

Then Eren brought them forward smashing the opposite sides of her head.

Annie's face crumpled and she struggled to stand.

When her face regenerated, Eren was no longer in front of her.

She looked around, mystified.

Then a pair of arms caught her from behind- one holding her below her neck and the other one on on her face .

Eren twisted both of his hands in the opposite directions, breaking Annie's neck in the process.

Annie's head went flying and landed a few meters away from her body.

At the same time, Eren also collapsed. His body was smoking.

' _He defeated her...'_ Ryan thought. ' _But he used up all his stamina in the process.'_

Meanwhile, both the titan shifters emerged from the decaying carcasses and lay on the ground, a few meters apart.

For a moment, they were alone.

Annie coughed violently. "Eren, you're a great fighter...I wonder who taught you all those moves..."

Eren grimaced because of the pain in his chest. "You did."

Annie sighed, shaking her head unbelievingly. "You are a curious person, Eren."

Slowly crystals started sprouting from her body. Eren stared at them.

"You're gonna seal yourself aren't you?"

Annie didn't reply. But a peaceful smile appeared on her face as she was fully enveloped in the crystalline structure.

 _'I'll find a way to break you out.'_ Eren promised.

He limped away from the battlefield.

All of his friends were there , staring at him as if he was some sort of monster.

"Good job, kid." Levi said.

Eren nodded faintly. Then he collapsed onto the ground, exhausted from the whole ordeal.

* * *

 **The next day:  
**

Mikasa stared at the giant crystal in the center of the room.

Despite their best efforts, the Survey corps members were unable to even dent it.

Mikasa's arm still hurt though the pain had subsided a bit. It was completely wrapped in bandages.

The whole expedition had been a waste of time and manpower. And she was still upset about Annie's betrayal.

She gripped the railing so hard with her other hand that her knuckles turned white.

"You know, you don't need to worry so much about this."

She turned around and noticed that Eld Jinn was behind her.

"You wouldn't understand." She muttered.

"Not completely, but I do understand the pain of losing a friend which isn't really different from what you're experiencing. You need to move ahead. Hanging on to it won't do you any good."

Mikasa should have probably let it go, but she shot back savagely.

"Is there any reason why you're here? Because I'm not really interesting in chit-chatting with one of the Corporal's lackeys."

Eld recoiled a bit, not expecting Mikasa to be so rude. Then his expression hardened.

"Erwin wanted to see you. It's regarding Eren." He said.

He turned on his heel and left her alone.

* * *

Joe lay down in his bed. He had a match-box in his hand and he kept lighting matches and throwing them away while humming to a song.

"Could you cut that out?" Krista demanded.

"What?... Oh, alright.'

He put the matchbox away. "Sorry, I was a bit distracted."

"Is it true?" She asked "About Eren?"

Joe shrugged. "I don't know. But he's definitely not the guy we thought he was."

Krista nodded. "But isn't it good that we have another Titan shifter? Now we have a better chance against the Titans."

"That's not the point." Ryan blurted out. "The thing is, he lied to us. All of us."

"Yes" Sasha replied, frowning at him "but you and Armin hid it from us too."

Ryan opened his mouth and closed it. She had a point.

"Still..." He said. "If we had known about Eren's transformation, so many people needn't have died."

Armin interjected. "That may not be true, Ryan."

Ryan's eyes grew wide. "Why wouldn't it?"

"If Eren had told us everything, things might have worked out in a different way, and maybe we wouldn't have been able to deal with it. Maybe the enemy would have launched an attack of an even greater magnitude which would have been completely impossible for us to handle. I think that Eren unconsciously took this into consideration when he withheld this from us." Armin said.

When Ryan thought about it, it made sense. "Well, I heard that he was being held as a prisoner and is constantly being interrogated by members of the Survey Corps."

Krista sighed. "I hope they don't hurt him."

Armin nodded. "I hope he doesn't meet Mikasa."

A storm was raging outside.

Joe noticed this.

"Where are Reiner and Bertholdt?" He asked.

"They said they had some urgent work to do." Krista replied. "They probably won't return until tomorrow."

"And what about Connie and Jean?"

As if on cue, the door was thrown open. Jean and Connie appeared, sopping wet.

Krista sprang up, relieved to see the two of them. However, when she saw that they were carrying someone, her smile disappeared.

' _What is this?'_ She wondered.

Joe jumped out of his bed and helped them carry the stranger and place them on another bed.

He looked incredibly weak and fragile.

"He was right there in the middle of the street..." whispered Connie. "Muttering things."

"What sort of things?" Ryan demanded.

But Connie was so shocked, he couldn't say anything. Instead, he removed the person's hood, revealing his face.

He was a short,thin person with blonde hair and an innocent face, not unlike one of the others in the room.

Everyone stared. First at the person lying on the bed, and then at Armin. They were absolutely identical.

Armin started shivering.

 _'Impossible!'_ He thought.

"And he was searching for 'him'." Jean said.

Ryan was confused. "Searching for whom?"

Jean stared at him. "Eren Yaegar."

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"We need to inform commander Erwin." Sasha said.

But Armin held up his hand.

"No.." He said. "We'll keep him here for the time being. Everyone keep your mouths shut regarding this.

And for once, the rest of the squad listened to him.

* * *

Reiner and Bertholdt entered the dark shack. At first, it seemed like no one was at home, but as they came to the center of the hallway, the lights came on, like they would in some sort of horror movie.

"What's up?" said a Feminine voice behind them. They turned around to see a tall brunette sitting on the sofa and inspecting her nails.

"Annie's been captured." Reiner said. "Furthermore, It would appear that they have a source of intel which may compromise our positions. "

"Really?" She asked them. "What do you mean by 'source of intel'?"

" It seems that there's another Titan-shifter, and he's the one who managed to take out Annie Leonhardt." Bertholdt said

The girl's eyes widened. "He defeated the Female Titan?"

Bertholdt nodded. "And furthermore he also seems to have a lot of information regarding Annie. We fear that he might know about us."

The girl looked up at the ceiling. This was quite a situation. Annie was an important asset to them after all.

She looked back at them. "It's decided. The two of you need to recover Annie."

Reiner's jaw dropped.

"But Julia, She's under constant supervision and she's being kept in the heart of the Survey Corp's base. There's no way that we'll be able to rescue her."

Julia smiled. "Don't worry, provisions are being made. And I'll send someone to help you out."

Bertholdt's eyes widened. "You couldn't possibly be talking about him!"

Julia nodded. "Yep. Infact, Roy will be here in an hour or so. So you guys better get to work."

The two still seemed nervous. Julia sighed. She walked over to Reiner, grabbed him by his shoulders and slammed him into the wall.

"You are aware of the consequences if you _do not listen_ to me aren't you, Reiner?"

She ran her hand across his face and he winced.

"Yes... Yes, Julia." He said.

Julia released him.

"Don't mess this up or ' _he'_ will be sure to deal with you in a most harsh manner." She warned him.

And she walked away.


	15. Cousin

**Chapter-15**

 **Cousin**

 **Note: I do not own any of these characters**

* * *

 _A younger version of Mikasa lay on the floor, her arms and legs in shackles. She looked at the teenager who stared back at her greedily. He had blue-green eyes and a wicked smile. His messy black hair made him look more like a ghost or a monster than an actual human being. His most defining feature was a scar which ran down his face, all the way from his forehead to his chin.  
_

 _He knelt down next to her and ran his hand through her hair. She tried her best not to cry as he brought his face closer to her._

 _"Mikasa.." He said in a gentle tone. "Why do you keep shying away from me? Are you afraid?"_

 _She was, but she didn't want to admit it. She didn't want him to think that he was in control._

 _"But you can't leave me. You are my greatest trophy after all. And you have the blood of the Ackerman line."_

 _The person picked up a knife which was lying on the floor._

 _He smiled at her. "I don't want to lose you. So I need to have some sort of proof that you belong to me. And I have just the idea."_

 _Mikasa felt fear rise in her chest. The person scanned Mikasa. Then his eyes widened._

 _"Aha!" He yelled. "I've found the perfect spot."_

 _Using his left hand to push Mikasa's face to one side, He knelt down and brought his knife closer to her neck. He pricked Mikasa's skin and slowly, a tiny amount of blood started oozing out. He continued carving with his knife, ignoring Mikasa's desperate pleas._

 _And she couldn't control her tears any longer._

* * *

Mikasa opened her eyes. The boy was no longer there. She was back in her room .

She put her face in her hands and groaned.

' _Why won't the nightmares stop...'_

' _Why me...'  
_

She touched the scar on her neck.

Then she shook her head vigorously. She couldn't dwell on that now. It was over.

She dressed up and got ready.

She looked at the giant mass of bandages which was her hand. It felt much better now, though it still looked revolting- like some sort of bizarre worm.

When she thought about it, accepting the commander's offer to get a separate room for herself until she felt better had been the right decision. Still, she felt uncomfortable about the fact that she was one of the few people who were getting this sort of preferential treatment.

 _"'Uhh... too many things to worry about."_

She pushed her thoughts aside as she left the room.

A few minutes later, she stood in front of Erwin's office. She knocked on the door.

"Come in."

She pushed open the door and noticed that he wasn't alone. On the other side of the table were Levi, Hange, Petra and Gunther.

She fixed her eyes on Levi.

Levi sighed. "Are you still angry about what happened in the woods, brat?"

Mikasa didn't say anything, but kept glaring at him.

Hange tried to stop him, but he got out of his seat and tried to get into Mikasa's face (Though he failed miserably, only managing to come up to her chin.)

"Listen up, Brat. You should really be grateful that I helped carry you all the way back to the gates when you were unconscious."

"Yes" said Mikasa , "but who was it that knocked me out in the first place?"

The two soldiers stared at each other, refusing to back down.

"Mikasa, Levi.. Please sit down." Erwin said in a calm manner.

Slowly, Mikasa and Levi turned away from each other and took their respective seats.

"So.." said Hange. "As I was saying, No one's been able to get any information out of Eren yet."

Erwin sighed. He looked like he hadn't slept in ages. "What happened when they questioned him?"

Hanji looked at her notes. "Well, at first, he kept silent. But when Oluo kept nagging him, he got frustrated and told him not to bite his tongue."

Gunther shifted uncomfortably.

She continued. "This was one of his characteristics which only a few of us were aware of. And this wasn't the only occasion. He seems to know a lot about the members of our squad. I'd say that this supports the theory that he came from another universe-"

" We've been over this, Hanji. There's no way that's possible." said an exasperated Petra.

"That's not the way you're supposed to see things, Petra. A few months ago, We would have thought that it was impossible for Titan shifters to exist. And look at the situation now." Hanji replied.

"Yeah.." said Mikasa. "But it would be more likely that Eren just lied."

For some reason, she preferred that idea. It made more sense to her.

Levi scoffed. "You don't know the first thing about your teammates, do you Ackerman? Because from what I've heard, the blonde brat is one of the smartest people in your team. Do you actually believe that he was tricked by Eren?"

Erwin raised his hand, commanding silence.

"I think Hange may have a point. Despite how absurd the claim is, We cannot make any assumptions. We need to find out as much as we can."

He turned to Mikasa. "So Mikasa, did you ask Armin about the reason for him trusting Eren?"

Mikasa's eyes widened. "No..." She said. "I didn't think of that."

She wondered how something like that had slipped out of her mind.

"I'll go and ask him immediately, Sir." She said.

Erwin stopped her. "That can wait for later. First of all, I need you to get Eren to spill the beans regarding his unusual predicament. I've arranged for you to stay with him for a short while, so do your best."

Mikasa was silent for some time.

"Alright, sir." She said and walked towards the exit.

Levi frowned at her.

"What's the matter, Levi?" Erwin asked him. "You don't seem to be satisfied regarding this turn of events."

Levi looked at him. "Well it's not like I'm fond of the brat in particular, but he did save us back in the woods. So why is he being kept as a prisoner?"

Erwin regarded him with those piercing eyes of his. "Well, First off, He's not bound in chains or anything and I have seen to it that his basic needs are satisfied so We can't really call him a prisoner. And secondly, it did seem like he helped us, but he might have defeated the Female Titan to fulfill one of his own objectives. We need to be careful when we deal with him."

Levi nodded. As usual, Erwin had thought everything out before acting.

He and his squad left the room.

"He is kind of brave though. He did help save a kid from a titan while most of the senior scout members just stood their gaping at it. " Petra pointed out.

Gunther scoffed at her. "Well of course he wasn't afraid! He can transform into one of those things for gods sake!"

"Yes, but he didn't do it even though the Titan was just a few meters away from him." Petra argued.

Gunther threw his hands up in the air. "Alright! I believe you. Now please stop shouting."

He yawned. "Still, it doesn't make any sense. At the forest, he was chatting as if his life depended on it. And now the moron's keeping his mouth shut."

No one bothered to reply to him. They were obviously thinking about the same thing.

Hange looked up at the blue sky. "Another universe, huh? I wish I had someway to find out for sure."

* * *

Armin was thinking hard. ' _Could he really be my doppelganger from Eren's universe.'_

He looked at the person. Though at first, he had seemed to look exactly like Armin, Armin had now pointed out several tiny differences between them.

Their faces matched perfectly, but there the stranger had a slightly darker complexion. Also, he was a bit taller and more muscular than Armin.

Though the others had already started assuming that he was 'the other Armin', he needed to be sure of it.

His thoughts were interrupted when the person stirred.

Ryan, who had also noticed this, stood up quickly.

"Guy's, he's waking up." He announced.

The others left their work and gathered around the bed.

Slowly, the person opened his eyes.

He looked at the people who were staring at him. Then his eyes widened.

"Whoah!" He yelled. "Where the hell am I?"

Before anyone could answer, he had jumped off his bed, rushed to the window and was gazing outside.

Then he noticed that everyone was wearing a uniform.

He looked like he had just been given a big lollipop.

"So... Awesome! I can't believe this! You guys are members of the scouting legion! This is so cool!"

The others were taken aback by his sudden enthusiasm.

Then the person noticed Armin and his face brightened even more.

"Armie! Didn't really expect you to be here!"

Armin looked like he had swallowed a frog. "Umm... do I know you?"

The person frowned. "Of course you do! It's me, Bernie! Your cousin! Don't tell me you forgot about me!"

Armin blinked. He did have a cousin named Bernie who he had met a few years ago. And they did look very similar to each other.

Still, He was pretty sure that this person wasn't Bernie. And he was going to say it too, but Bernie stepped forward and hugged him furiously.

 _'Can't breath!'_ He thought.

* * *

Joe was feeling really stupid right now. He and his friends had just assumed that this person was from Eren's universe. But now, as he watched, Bernie squeeze Armin like he was some sort of teddy bear, he was convinced that they were two different people. He looked at his team mates who seemed equally embarrassed.

Jean wasn't convinced though.

"Yeah... All that's fine, but I still don't get one thing. How did you end up like this?"

"Nah, nothing serious. I just got beaten up by some guys because they thought I was crazy!"

"They thought you were crazy? I wonder why.." said Jean sarcastically.

Fortunately, Bernie didn't get the joke. He bobbed his head up and down.

"I know right! I'm like the most sane person on the planet. Those guys were just to stupid to see the truth. And-"

Sasha interrupted. "You were also babbling about searching for someone."

Bernie narrowed his eyes. "I was?"

"You know, Eren something."

Bernie's eye's lit up.

"Oh my God, I almost forgot about that. You see, my friends in the Survey Corps were speaking about this guy called Eren Yaegar. He's like this super cool person who saved one of them from some titan, while risking his life." He said all this really, really fast.

The squad gaped at him.

"Well, he's a part of our squad." said Connie.

Immediately,he knew that he had made a mistake.

Bernie had pounced on him and wasn't letting him go.

"SERIOUSLY! You've gotta introduce him to me!" Bernie yelled while wringing Connie's neck.

Connie pushed him off. "Alright, Alright! I'll introduce you guys when I see him next. But you've been here for the whole night. Won't someone be worried about you?"

Bernie froze. His face turned white.

"Oh..." He said in a small voice. "I almost forgot about that."

For a moment he stood there, considering the situation.

Then he took his coat and ran towards the door.

However, he suddenly ground his heels, bringing him to a halt. He turned to face the others.

"I'm sorry for leaving so abruptly. But I promise that I'll be back as soon as possible."

He turned, burst into a sprint and slammed into the door.

 _'He could have opened it first'_ Christa thought.

But Bernie, got up, and grinned as if nothing had happened. He pushed the door open and took off.

Seven people gaped at the door, feeling like they had just been tossed around by a tornado.

Ryan was the first to recover. "I'm telling you. That guy's not human."

* * *

Everyone returned to their chores, while talking about the weird kid.

Everything was almost back to normal.

 _'Almost'_ thought Armin as he looked at the note in his hand, the one Bernie had passed on to him when he had hugged Armin.

Three hours later, he left the room, determined to find out what was going on.

Because one thing was clear from the note.

That guy was definitely not Bernie...


	16. Regret

**Chapter-16**

 **Regret**

 **Note: I do not own any of these characters**

* * *

Eren groaned. He was in a room with no windows and a metal door which could only be opened from the outside, or if the person inside had a key.

' _I wonder how long it's been since they put me here...'_

Not that he wanted to go out. Simply put, he had lost the urge to fight against the Titans.

 _'After all, I don't belong here. These guys can take care of themselves from now on. I'm just glad that I could save my friends though..."_

He had hoped that since he had accepted the Blue Titan in his head, he wouldn't be bothered by the apparition any more.

Boy, was he wrong.

But things weren't that bad. Eren looked up, recollecting old memories.

 _'At least they're treating me like a human being. In my universe, they put me in a cage like I was some sort of animal. And then I got beaten up by Levi..."_

He winced when he remembered how Levi had kicked him several times, even breaking a tooth in the process.

Maybe it was better this way.

 _'I could just escape and leave everyone, then figure out a way to return to my universe. After all, I'm not sure if anyone likes me here. Ryan and Armin weren't particularly pleased with me lying to them and the last time I saw Mikasa, she sure was furious.'_

He shuddered at the thought.

 _'Why didn't I tell them though...'_

This was something which Eren found very confusing. When he thought about it, he couldn't really pinpoint the reason.

 _'Maybe it was because I didn't trust them enough. Maybe I didn't want to talk about my own universe. Maybe...'_

His eyes widened.

 _'Maybe, the apparition was messing with my head.'_

And that's as far as he got before his train of thoughts was interrupted.

He heard voices on the other side of the door, too faint for him to discern.

Then, the door burst open. A burly guy walked in, carrying a rucksack with him. It was Brandt, the guy who was in charge of Eren. Personally, Eren thought he was a nice guy. He spoke a lot and Eren enjoyed conversing with him. The weird thing was, He had seen Brandt so many times in his universe, but had never bothered to talk with him or anyone else in particular because he was so obsessed with his mission to kill all Titans.

"Ok Buddy, the good news is that you've got a new roommate! " Brandt announced.

Eren frowned. _'A roommate?'_

"What's the bad news?" he asked.

Brandt gulped as he peeked out and saw someone coming.

"Uhh... You know what? It'll be better if you find out yourself." He said. He walked outside and waited.

Eren screwed his eyes and saw some one coming. Brandt walked up to the person and they spoke for a while. Brant tossed a key to the person and then walked away, while waving at Eren.

The person walked inside the room and closed the door behind her. She turned around and leaned against it, while looking at Eren.

Eren who had initially been surprised when he had realized that the person was Mikasa, quickly recovered, put on a grumpy face and stood up.

He glanced at her empty hands.

"That's all? No knives or blades?" He asked sarcastically.

Mikasa simply stared at him. "You have quite a high opinion about the Survey Corps don't you?"

She walked up to the table, pulled out a chair and sat in it.

Eren kept standing.

She glared at him pointedly. "Sit down."

Eren quickly pulled out another chair and dropped into it. He looked at Mikasa.

She looked very similar to the Mikasa from his universe, but she was... different.

Maybe it had something to do with the way she wore her hair, or that she was a bit taller, or the fact that she seemed to emanate more confidence, though Eren wasn't sure.

"What are you looking at?" Mikasa demanded.

That brought Eren back to earth. He shook his head. "Nothing."

For several seconds, Mikasa kept quiet.

Then she cleared her throat. "So... I've talked to Armin and Ryan and both of them say you're from another universe."

Eren didn't say anything.

Mikasa continued. "But, I've known Armin for a long time. And he is very intelligent. He's not the sort of person who would believe something like this so easily. So tell me... How did you manage to convince him?"

Eren shrugged. He didn't really feel like revealing the truth.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask Armin?"

Mikasa's expression turned dark.

"What is it that you're trying to hide. Why are you being so discreet?"

Eren was getting irritated now. He pushed himself away from the table.

"Because it's my problem! And I'm not interested in sharing it with other people!"

But he realized that he had said the wrong thing as Mikasa stood up as well and walked right up to Eren.

" _Your_ _Problem?_ " She asked, her voice dripping with raw fury.

She grabbed Eren by his collar and slammed him into the wall.

"What about all the people..." She brought her arm back and punched him in the stomach. Eren doubled over. "...who died while trying to stop the Female Titan."

Before he could slide down, She caught him by his hair and forced him to look into her eyes.

"Do you have any idea how many people were lost? How many loved ones were separated from each other?"

She slammed his face into the wall. He grimaced and crumpled down.

She kicked him hard in his gut. His body rose a few meters in the air and fell again, colliding with the opposite wall.

She walked up to him, her menacing figure looming over his body.

" _ALL - BECAUSE - YOU - HID - THE - TRUTH - FROM - US!"_ She yelled, punctuating every word with a violent kick. Eren just took it silently as he lay helplessly on the floor.

Mikasa didn't know what to do with a person like this. Experience had taught her that pain was the best catalyst for fear, but Eren seemed to follow a completely different set of rules. He would probably break before anyone managed to get any information from him.

As she looked at him, she felt primordial desire surge through her. The desire to crush the weak. The desire to inflict pain on the defenseless.

Slowly, She raised her foot as she looked into those green eyes, pleading for her to stop. But that only strengthened her resolve.

She stomped hard on his head, grinding her boot into his temples. Eren yelled in pain, but didn't fight back. A part of Mikasa wanted him to scream, to beg for mercy. But Eren didn't oblige.

 _And then, for a second, what Mikasa saw wasn't Eren's face, but the face of the one who had tormented her. The person responsible for her suffering._

Shocked, she immediately took a few steps away from Eren, holding on to a chair so she wouldn't lose her balance.

The ghosts of her past still seemed to be lingering around.

That moment of weakness had brought pain to her heart. And when the moment passed, the pain was replaced with shame- shame at what she had done.

She had allowed her emotions to get the better of her and seriously hurt someone. And the worst part was that she had even enjoyed it a little.

She remembered a voice from her past.

 _"You think I'm a monster, and you're right. But that's true for all of us. Human Beings try to act high and mighty, but in the end, we're all the same, hurting people just for the sake of it, and only thinking about ourselves."_

She stared at Eren who had managed to prop himself on the wall. He had blood coming out of his mouth and a nasty bruise on the side of his head.

 _' I'm not just a victim. I'm a perpetrator as well.'_ She realized.

Suddenly, she felt very bad about beating up Eren so brutally.

She opened her mouth to apologize. But Eren spoke first.

"You're right. It was my fault." He choked.

Mikasa was quite surprised. After staying quite all that time while he got beaten up, Why was he opening up now?

He continued. "It's just that... I felt responsible for the dozens of people who died while trying to protect me from the female titan in my universe. I didn't want to put them in danger. I thought I could make everything right on my own."

Mikasa frowned. She still wasn't buying the whole 'other universe' idea.

"That's no excuse!" She replied. "If you had trusted us, We could have avoided all of this and maybe planned out something-"

"THAT'S WHAT THEY SAID!" He yelled. He was breathing heavily now.

"Petra, Oluo, Eld, Gunther... They all said the same thing." He muttered. "And like a fool, I listened to them instead of following my instincts! I believed that I could trust them! And that's why they're dead!"

Mikasa frowned. She couldn't really understand what Eren was saying, but coming to think of it, Ryan wasn't listening to them when they had asked him to avoid shifting, but had transformed on his own account. He had become a bit more assertive after he and Eren had failed to stop Annie when she had killed the Two Titans.

Did Eren have something to do with that? Was he the reason why Ryan had grown more confident?

The two were quite for sometime. Then Mikasa spoke.

"I'm sorry." She said. "I shouldn't have been so harsh on you."

Eren took some time to register what she had said. He seemed surprised, even shocked, that she had actually apologized to him.

"It's alright." He said at last. "This is nothing compared to the beating I got in my universe when people realized that I was a titan."

But Mikasa knew that he was trying to put on a brave face.

She simply stared at him. The bruise on his face was slowly fading thanks to his regeneration.

He wiped the blood from his mouth.

"Still..." He said. "I want to know something."

Mikasa nodded, indicating that she would answer his question.

"At first, I was convinced that You behaved like this with everyone. But recently, I've been getting the feeling that you don't like me in particular."

Mikasa didn't respond.

Eren continued. "All I want to know is the reason why you don't seem to like me. Have I done something to hurt you or.."

Mikasa shook her head. "It's not really your fault, Eren. It's just that ... that you remind me of someone from my past."

Eren remembered what Mikasa had told him after they had sparred with each other.

" _Something inside me awoke when there was great danger to my life and forced me to fight for survival. This strength of mine is what keeps me alive._ "

But he didn't understand.

"What was it that happened to you again?" He asked her.

She frowned.

"It's none of your bus-" She stopped herself midway and sighed.

"Alright, I'll tell you. "

She took a deep breath.

"It started when I was a kid. " She said. " I had everything a child could possibly want. A proper house, Caring parents..."

Then her expression darkened. "But all that changed. My parents were murdered. And then I was kidnapped."

Eren had a horrible flashback of a dark room where he and his father had seen the two of them, lying motionless on the ground, covered in blood.

Mikasa shuddered. "The things they did to me there were... unspeakable to say the least."

Suddenly, Eren felt very guilty. Had all of this happened because he hadn't been there to save Mikasa?

Despite knowing that there was nothing he could have done about it, he still felt as if he was carrying the burden of the world on his shoulders.

Mikasa didn't seem to notice this. She just went on with her story.

"Eventually, I managed to escape. I considered myself lucky. But that wasn't the end of my suffering."

Eren was really disturbed now. _"What sort of things had happened to_ her?"

Mikasa looked outside. "It's getting late. And the way I see it, there's no way I can make you speak, so my job here is done."

Eren looked very disappointed- Something Mikasa couldn't understand. If someone else was in his place, he would have been more than happy to see her leave.

"But Mikasa..." He said.

Mikasa glared at him again. "Listen Eren. There's no need to get friendly with me. You seem to have misunderstood. I didn't apologize to you because I hit you. I apologized because I had the wrong mind-set when I did it."

Eren recoiled. "It's not like that. I just wanted to-"

"Hear the rest of my story?" Mikasa interrupted. "You weren't willing to trust me, so why should I confide everything in you?"

Eren had no answer to that. He just looked down.

Mikasa turned and walked away.

Eren hesitated, but spoke before Mikasa could shut the door.

"Mikasa!"

She frowned. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry- I'm sorry about what happened to your parents and about what happened to you..." He blurted out.

Mikasa looked at him like he was crazy. "Why are you apologizing about that? It's not like you could have done anything about it, so stop worrying."

Eren slowly nodded.

Before shutting the door, Mikasa paused for a second.

"To be honest, Eren, You aren't really such a bad person. Once this is over, I'm sure we can sort things out..."

Eren frowned as he tried to understand what she was implying.

 _'So she's basically saying that I'm a nice guy?'_

And then he did something very weird. He grinned broadly, from tooth-to-tooth.

"You're pretty nice too, Mikasa. It would be cool if you could visit me a bit more frequently here. Because it's really very boring here." He replied.

Mikasa seemed to blush when she heard the compliment. "I'll think about it." She muttered, before slamming the door shut.

She sighed as she walked away.

 _'Something about him seems really wrong.'_ She thought. _'But still, I can't help but feel that he's a good person...'_

A few minutes later, she was in Erwin's office.

She sighed. "I don't think he's going to speak, no matter what I do."

Erwin looked at her, brooding over what she had said.

At last, he decided. "Alright then. We have no choice but to send in Levi."

Levi frowned. "Is this some sort of joke?"

Erwin shook his head. "I'm serious Levi. The information he has may prove to be vital for our survival."

Levi nodded. "Alright. But I'm telling you that I hate speaking to shitty brats."

Just then, the door burst open.

Mikasa stared at the person.

"Armin? What are you doing here?"

Armin looked at all of them. "There's no need to send Levi. I think I can convince Eren to tell us everything- in around 20 minutes.

Levi frowned. "Were you eavesdropping on us?"

Armin shook his head violently.

"I was coming here and I just happened to overhear a part of your conversation. Please trust me. I'm sure I can do it." He said.

He looked at Erwin pleadingly.

At last, Erwin nodded. "Fine, but you have only 20 minutes."

Armin smiled. "Thank you, Commander."

He rushed out of the room.

Mikasa gaped at him. She turned to Erwin.

"Is it really alright to allow him to speak with Eren?" She demanded.

Erwin didn't say anything. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead on his clasped hands.

Levi scanned Erwin's face.

It was an expression which he recognized easily.

Erwin was planning something.


	17. Breakthrough

**Chapter-17**

 **Breakthrough**

 **Note: I do not own any of these characters**

* * *

It was a stormy day. The town seemed empty. Most of the people had retreated to the safety of their homes, shutting their windows and doors.

And in the middle of all this, a person walked alone on the road, not bothering about the fact that he was getting completely drenched in the rain.

He hummed a light tune which didn't go along with the dark atmosphere.

And then he turned around a corner to see two people wearing rain-coats looking back at him.

He whistled casually and tried to walk past them, but the bulky guy stood in his way.

He regarded the person with interest.

"Do you mind moving out of the way?"

Reiner removed his hood. "Is it you, Roy?"

The person shrugged. "That's what they call me."

Lightening flashed, illuminating the person's face. He had a large scar which extended from his forehead,to his chin. His expression resembled that of a carefree person, but his eyes told a different story. They reminded Reiner of shattered glass. Clearly, this person at a time, had bordered on the edge of insanity.

This made Reiner feel even more uncomfortable about working with this mysterious person.

Bertolt on the other hand seemed a bit more comfortable, though he was equally intimidated.

Roy walked with them and entered the shack.

Immediately, He collapsed into the sofa.

Julia walked into the room. She noticed Roy and she smiled.

"Oh my! You've already made yourself at home, haven't you."

Roy ignored her.

This didn't bother Julia in the least.

She continued."Well, now that you're here, we should focus on the task at hand."

Roy turned to her. "And what would that be?"

Bertolt sighed. "Our comrade was captured by the Survey Corps. We need to bring her back."

When he mentioned the Survey Corps, Roy's shoulders stiffened.

"I'm not interested." He said. "If she has been captured, it's her own fault."

Reiner wanted to punch the guy. Didn't he understand how much Annie meant to him and Bertolt!

Julia laughed. "Now, now, Roy.. You do understand that we have the same motive don't you? And personally, I think that the real reason you're refusing is because you're afraid of having anything to do with the Survey Corps. I wonder why? Is it because it's somehow connected to your past?"

Roy's eyes widened. _'There's no way she could know that.'_

Julia's smile grew even wider.

He punched her straight in the jaw.

Reiner and Bertolt pounced on him, restricting him from moving his arms or legs.

Julia got up and wiped the corner of her mouth with her sleeve. Her smile didn't even waver a bit.

"Fine!" Roy said. "I'll do it."

He thrust a finger towards Julia. "But don't make the mistake of thinking that our motives are anything alike!"

Julia nodded. "Very well then..."

* * *

 **Few hours later:**

Armin entered the room and glanced at Eren Yeagar.

When Eren saw him enter, he put his face in his hands and groaned.

"Now what are you guys upto!" He yelled.

Armin raised his hands as if to calm Eren down."It's not like that, Eren."

Eren banged his fist on the table. "Of course it is! You guys think you can simply beat me up or use some other silly trick and make me tell you anything you want to know!"

Armin grimaced. "But Eren-"

Eren looked away. "Do whatever you want! I'm not interested in any of it! In fact..."

He stood up. "...the whole world can go to pot for all I care!"

Armin was getting impatient now.

"Come on, Eren! Just give me a chance to speak!"

But Eren ignored him. "You can do whatever you want! Call Levi here if you want to, It's just a matter of time before he beats me up too."

Armin had had enough.

He yelled "OF COURSE YOU'D THINK LIKE THAT! YOU ARE A SUICIDAL BASTARD AFTER ALL!"

Eren was shocked. He hadn't expected Armin to scream like that. And he'd never seen Armin speaking like this.

Armin was now looking at him like he was waiting for something to happen.

Eren wondered what was going on in his mind.

Then it hit him.

He frowned.

"Hey, I don't remember telling you about my nickname..."

Armin seemed to calm down, now that the point had been made.

"You haven't" he said. "I'm the Armin from you're universe."

That hit Eren like a bullet.

He couldn't process it at first. Something of this magnitude was too overwhelming for him to consider.

"You're... you're from my... universe?"

Armin nodded.

Eren's head was swimming. It wasn't something he could believe so easily. But then, Armin had used a nickname which he hadn't revealed to anyone here.

"Bu- But how?" He whispered.

Armin looked very nervous. "We can talk about that later, Eren. First I need to have a quick conversation with you. "

Eren shook his head in bewilderment.

"What is there to talk about? Do you have any idea how we got here? Is it possible for us to return? Why can't we just-"

Armin took off his gloves and showed Eren his hands.

Eren's eyes widened as he noticed that they were pale-red. Maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him, but he had a strange feeling that they were smoking a bit.

" _I'm dying_ , Eren." Armin whispered. "I can't stay here for long. Being in this universe is killing me. You might have felt some weakness initially, but it's alright for you, seeing that you can regenerate. But I need to finish this quickly. Or we'll be stranded here for ever."

Eren frowned. It made sense now, why he had taken so much time to heal from the wounds Annie gave him. It was because his regeneration was already dealing with another problem.

Still, he hadn't felt any ill-effects of it recently. Was it because his body had managed to adapt to the new world?

Eren wanted to talk to Armin. He wanted to know if there was hope for them to return to their world. But he was also very worried about Armin's condition. It seemed to him like Armin was under intense pain which he was enduring only because he wanted to help Eren.

So he decided to keep his mouth shut for the moment.

Armin sighed, relieved that Eren had finally calmed down.

He and Eren sat down.

"Eren" He said shakily."I _'_ ve already talked to my counterpart in this world, but I need you to tell me everything that has been going on here recently from your perspective. Everything which has happened to you since you came here."

So Eren told him. It wasn't as hard as he thought. Armin was a good listener. He nodded appreciatively when Eren told him about lying to Joe and the rest of the squad so as to get out of a tight spot. He gulped when Eren described how this world's Mikasa was. He winced when Eren talked about the time when Annie had punched him into a tree. His mouth hung open as Eren talked about his battle with the female titan.

Finally when Eren came to the part where Mikasa had beaten him up, Armin looked positively alarmed.

He grabbed Eren's shoulders.

"Eren! You can't simply let other people treat you like that! You need to do something about this!"

Eren frowned. "But I can't simply hit her."

"You don't have to hit anyone. But you need to make sure that you're not being tossed around by someone either. Besides, you said it yourself. She's a different person. So why do you have to treat her like 'our Mikasa'? " said Armin.

But Eren wasn't satisfied. "Of course it's easy for you to say that , but all these people- Levi, Mikasa, they are stronger than me. They can easily overpower me if they want too."

Armin was getting even more distressed. "That's nothing different from our universe. I remember how you would constantly fight with several people at once, just to protect me. And you would end up getting injured in the process, but you still never gave up. _That's the way you need to be_ here. That's the only way you'll survive."

Eren didn't answer. He was beginning to doubt himself.

Of course he was like that before! But what had happened to him now? Was he changing into something else? Was there something wrong with him?

Armin noticed this. "Don't worry Eren. It's natural for people to act differently under certain circumstances."

He took a deep breath.

"All the same, I'd like you to tell them everything you know."

Eren opened his mouth to argue, but Armin stopped him.

"You don't need to tell them everything. You just need to talk about the important events which happened in our world. That way, they'll trust you. "

He looked at the ceiling.

"Eren, You need to manage with them for now. I promise you that things will work out. We'll be able to return to our home. But for now, there's nothing else we can do. There's so many things I want to tell you... I wish we had more time..."

Eren was quite for a moment. His instinct told him to listen to Armin, who had saved him so many times in the past because he was resourceful and had a strong intuition. Also, He suddenly felt a spark of hope. He could return to his home. Things would be back to normal.

"Alright" He said at last.

A jubilant Armin hugged Eren.

"Don't worry" He said. "I have faith in you Eren. You're one of the bravest people I've met and if anyone can survive here,it's you."

He stepped away. "I have to go now. The other Armin will be joining you from this point. Also, if we meet later and there's someone else with us, call me 'Bernie'. In fact, it's better if you call me by that name all the time. "

Eren gave him a questioning look.

"I'm basically acting like I'm the other Armin's cousin." Armin explained. "Anyway, all the best!"

Before Eren could say anything, He walked out of the room and shut the door.

Eren's heart was racing. He didn't really mind Armin's abrupt departure.

Still, so much had happened in such a short span of time. He had so many questions.

He shook his head. That could wait for later. Right now, He needed to be clear about his objectives.

First, off he needed to tell the Members of the Survey Corps the truth. He was definitely going to do that, but like Armin had said, he was going to skip over the parts which weren't important.

Secondly, he needed to regain the trust of his teammates.

And third, he needed to figure out what was happening with the voice in his head.

Levi burst into the room.

"Alright, brat. I've been told that you've been convinced to tell us about what in the world is going on. Am I right?"

Eren slowly nodded. "Yes, Sir."

Levi turned around. "Then get ready. We don't have any time to spare."

Eren followed him, making sure that he kept a safe distance from the Corporal.

Levi seemed to notice this.

"Kid" He said."Just putting it out there, but if you try to escape, I'll make sure you regret it."

Eren gulped. "Yes sir!"

They walked towards Erwin's office.


	18. His Story

**Chapter-18**

 **His Story**

 **Note: I do not own any of these characters.**

 **A small warning for the readers. This chapter doesn't particularly develop the plot or add anything new to the story. It revolves around the main character's description of events that have already occurred. So if you're not into that sort of thing, be prepared...**

* * *

Eren grinned sheepishly as he sat in front of Erwin.

Mikasa looked at him skeptically.

"So..." She noted. "An hour ago, you were valiantly keeping your mouth shut even when you were being kicked and beaten up. And now here you are, ready to reveal everything."

Eren didn't say anything. The thought had just occurred to him too and he honestly felt very stupid.

Erwin frowned. He looked at Mikasa and then at her bandaged arm. "I don't remember giving you permission to use force. If that was what I wanted to do, I would have sent Levi."( Eren gulped.)

Now it was Mikasa's turn to look embarrassed. "He... He had it coming sir." She muttered.

Erwin sighed. What was it with these teenagers! Did they think everything could be solved by hitting someone?

Hanji burst in to the room. She looked at Eren and grinned evilly.

"Hello, Eren! It sure is nice to see you! But I must say I'm rather disappointed that you didn't tell me about your titan shifting abilities earlier. We could have had so much fun together..."

She sat next to Eren and started drooling as she imagined the things they could do with two titan-shifters at their disposal.

Eren reacted by pulling his chair a meter away from her's.

Erwin turned to Eren, His icy-blue eyes boring through him.

"First things first." He said. "I would like you to begin with your life in your 'previous world'."

Eren glanced at the other soldiers nervously.

"Sir, wouldn't it be alright if I talked with you in private?"

Mikasa looked like she wanted to argue, but Erwin raised his hand, commanding silence.

"Eren, you don't really have any choice here. Besides, these people are going to be working closely with you for the rest of your life. It would be better if they got to know you first."

He stood up. "In fact, I have other matters to attend to so I will not be able to listen to you now. But, I'm sure Levi will be kind enough to brief me with the details later on."

Levi glared at him, but kept his mouth shut.

Erwin walked out of the room.

Eren was sweating now.

Erwin obviously felt that Eren would be more comfortable talking to just his comrades. But somehow, Erwin's absence didn't make him feel any better.

In fact, Eren was having the crazy feeling that the person who posed the least danger to him in this room was Hanji. And that wasn't particularly reassuring _._

Levi yawned. "Brat, in case you're wondering, we're not going to keep waiting until morning. And I've got a loose-cannon to my right side who's just waiting for the opportunity to burst."

Mikasa gave him a death-stare. "And who are you calling a loose cannon?"

Levi clicked his tongue in disgust. "Ackerman, would it hurt you to address your superior with some respect?"

"You aren't my superior. We both have the same rank." She stated calmly.

"Yes, but I'm much older than you are." Levi shot back.

Eren sweat-dropped as he watched the two of them bicker.

"Can I speak now?" He pleaded.

But no one bothered to answer him.

He tried once again. A bit louder.

"Can I speak now?"

Still, it had no effect.

Hanji noticed his predicament. She turned to Levi and Mikasa.

"You both remind me of a couple when you argue." She giggled

Mikasa recoiled, her cheeks red. "What are you implying, Hanji?"

Hanji shrugged. "I just wanted to remind you about the real reason why we're here."

Eren capitalized on the moment of silence.

"Well, I'd better start with my childhood." He announced .

He was pleased to note that everyone was paying attention to him.

He continued. "I lived in the Shiganshina district. Even when I was a child, I always wanted to join the Survey Corps. I was always curious about the things beyond the wall. I always hoped th-"

"We're not here to listen to your autobiography, brat!" Levi barked.

But Hanji shushed him.

Eren took a deep breath."Anyways, Wall Maria was breached and we were attacked by titans. I was lucky enough to escape, along with my best friend Armin and my uh... sister. But my mom.. she... "

He let out a strangled gulp. But no one made fun of him for losing control.

After all, these people had experienced death and knew what it felt like.

"Well.." He said. "I joined the 104th trainee squad. I tried my best to become a good soldier. And I think my efforts paid off, because I managed to get into the Top- 10 ranked trainees."

Mikasa interrupted him. "But what about your hand-to-hand combat skills?"

The question caught Eren off-guard. "I don't think I understand you."

Mikasa was getting impatient. "When you fought with me and later with the female Titan, you used some of Annie's techniques. I'm assuming that it wasn't a coincidence."

Eren's eyes widened. "Oh right, I took lessons from her. She taught me to deal with opponents who were stronger than me while using minimal force. She told me that her father had taught her these techniques ,but she wasn't really interested in using it because she felt that it was 'pointless'. At the time, she seemed to be a nice person even though she was a bit distant. "

Mikasa seemed satisfied with his answer.

"Go on." She said.

"Obviously, I joined the survey corps. And things went on in a normal fashion. Until the day the colossal titan appeared "

A shadow crossed his face.

"As soon as I noticed it, I attacked it."

Hanji jumped. "Wait a sec, you _saw_ the colossal titan up close? What was it like? "

"Uhh.. it was gigantic. It was also extremely hot and when I came close to it, it generated an intense amount of steam, making it very difficult to attack it. When I was heading for it's neck, it shot some steam right into my face. And when the steam cleared, it had disappeared."

Hanji nodded. Obviously, there were a lot of things going on in her mind but she didn't seem particularly interested in sharing them, so Eren carried on.

"Then we were each assigned to a particular squad. Me and Armin ended up together. But things weren't going well. Most of the soldiers had never seen titans before and were helpless against them. I saw so many people die, even some of my friends."

He felt as if he was witnessing the whole thing once again. And it wasn't pleasant. But he didn't really want these people to pity him for it. So he forged on.

"At one point, I saw a Titan drop my friend Armin into it's mouth. After all... I couldn't bear to lose him too. I ended up pulling him out of the Titan's mouth and switching places with him.

Mikasa spluttered. "So you're saying you went into a _Titan's mouth_ to save Armin. That's absurd!'

Eren frowned. "It's the truth! Armin was my closest friend after all."

But Mikasa wasn't buying it.

"Well, to me it sounds like you've been trying to glorify yourself this whole time haven't you! Making it look like you're some sort of hero."

Eren balled his hands into fists. "No I'm not! I have nothing to gain from doing that. Do you think it's _fun_ for me to joke about things like this!"

He was furious. And it must have seemed obvious that he was going to pounce on Mikasa.

But Levi stopped him.

"Kid, unless you want to get beaten up again, I'd advise you to stay in your place."

Eren didn't like it, but he knew it was true. Unlike Mikasa and Levi, he didn't have any natural talent and had only survived so far because of his hardheadedness and the fact that he'd conveniently turned out to be a titan-shifter. Still, He absolutely resented not being able to perform at their level or having the ability to fight alongside them. And he especially hated it when people looked down on him.

However, he remembered that Mikasa had been through a lot, all because he hadn't been there to help her out.

And his anger slowly ebbed away.

Levi turned to Mikasa with an annoyed look on his face.

"And _you,_ Ackerman. If all you want to do is mock this brat, then you might as well get out of the room and leave us in peace."

His words had some effect on Mikasa who looked the other way and remained silent.

Eren waited for all of them to calm down before continuing.

"The Titan managed to swallow me. I fell into it's stomach ... then everything went blank."

Hanji was very interested. "You mean to say that you were actually inside the titan's stomach! What did you see!"

Eren winced. "All I saw were people who were dead or almost-dead. I didn't really think much about my surroundings. Apparently, I transformed into a Titan while I was inside."

Hanji opened her mouth but Eren answered her question before she could say it.

"And no, I have no idea how i managed to become one. I wasn't in control and I couldn't even remember what happened during that period. But when I woke up later, I found myself cornered by the military, with only Armin by my side. They thought I was a threat and wanted to finish me off."

Mikasa frowned. "Why would they attack someone who had the potential to be an asset for humanity?"

Eren snorted. "It's what a normal person would do. I'm surprised no one here tried to kill Ryan."

"They weren't exactly friendly with him. But they didn't try to attack him either. And then, Commander Pixis came up with the idea to make him seal the breach by blocking it with a giant boulder. Once he managed to do that, things worked out for him." Hanji replied.

Eren nodded. "Yeah, Commander Pixis saved me too. But the mission didn't work out for us. I lost control of my titan form and attacked someone who was really close to me."

He was hoping to skim over this part but Mikasa noticed it.

"Someone close to you? Whom?" She asked.

Eren cursed himself for bringing it up. "Uh..Just one of my friends in the survey corps."

Mikasa sighed. She knew he was hiding something but it sounded like it was something personal so she didn't pursue it anymore.

"Go on."

Eren was relieved. He simply didn't want to tell Mikasa about their relationship. If she found out, he was confident that she would either think he was lying or start treating him differently. And Eren didn't want that to happen. Despite the way she behaved with him, he liked the fact that she didn't really fuss over him or treat him like a child, which was something he hadn't experienced in his world. This was how Mikasa was supposed to be, not someone who would keep putting her life in danger just for Eren's sake.

"In the end, I managed to carry the boulder and plug the breach. But several people died in the process. And since I hadn't been able to control myself, the authorities didn't take kindly to me."

Levi stared at him. "Would you care to elaborate?"

"Well, for starters, they put me in a cage. Treated me like some sort of dangerous animal. Later, they brought me to the court to decide my fate. The Military Police wanted me dead, but the Survey corps wanted me to help them reclaim Wall Maria. In the end, I was assigned to the Survey Corps."

Hanji narrowed her eyes. "I wouldn't have expected the Military police to give up so easily. "

Eren sighed. "They didn't. But then... Levi went and beat me up. He managed to convince everyone that he could easily kill me if I went out of control as a Titan. The other people were too afraid to put up an argument so the Survey Corps won... I guess. "

Mikasa and Hanji stared accusingly at Levi who took a second to realize that they seemed to be irritated with him.

"What?" He shot back. "I did help him out in the end, didn't I?"

Eren continued. "I became a part of Levi's squad. I spent a lot of time with the other members and grew attached to them. Along with Hanji, I figured out some of the things regarding my titan abilities, like the fact that I needed to have a clear motive in my mind when I injured myself or I wouldn't be able to transform."

He exhaled. "Things finally looked like they were falling into place. But then someone killed the two titans who we had captured and escaped before she could be detected. And then during the expedition, the Female Titan showed up. She caught up to us in the forest of the giant trees. Several soldiers died while trying to slow her down. I really wanted to transform and fight her but my comrades stopped me. They asked me to trust them. And that's what I ended up doing."

He looked at Levi. "You were the only one who didn't completely disapprove of the idea. You told me that it was my decision and no one could tell me what was the right thing to do."

Levi nodded. That was definitely one of the things he would have said if he'd been there.

"...as you all know, we managed to capture the titan alive, but she managed to escape after after she called a horde of titans to come and devour her. She already had the 3dmg gear with her and she easily caught up with us. She... she killed all of them. All the members of my squad."

Why was it so difficult for him to say all of this? It was all part of the past and he had time to get over it, but whenever he replayed their deaths in his mind the memories were fresh and they caused him excruciating pain.

Levi and Hanji were quiet, but Mikasa was trembling with rage.

"She'll pay for all that she's done. She killed so many people. And she would have killed us without hesitating, despite the fact that we've all known her so well..."

Hanji turned to Eren. "What happened next? Did you defeat her?"

Eren shook his head. "No, I couldn't. She was too much for me. I don't remember what happened exactly, but apparently, she managed to swallow me and tried to escape. Luckily, the two of you.." He gestured towards Levi and Mikasa. "... managed to free me. But we weren't able to capture the female titan."

"Later, Armin started suspecting that Annie was the titan. He had plenty of reasons to do so, but I couldn't accept it. I had always thought of her as a cold,but kind person. Eventually, Erwin hatched a plan to capture her. But things went downhill and Annie ended up transforming within wall Sina."

The last line made Mikasa and Hanji gasp.

"Within Wall Sina?"

Eren nodded.

"I transformed too, and I somehow managed to gain the upper hand over her. In the end, she lost control of her titan body. But before we could do anything else, she covered herself with that hard crystal, just like she did here. In the end, all our efforts were for nothing."

He balled his hands into fists.

"That's it. That's all I remember." He said looking at them. "I have no idea how I ended up here. I met Joe and then I managed to join the Survey Corps here while skipping the training session. And you guys know the rest..."

His voice trailed off. He felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders. He hadn't realized how much of a toll the ordeal had taken on his mind.

Mikasa frowned. "Well, I didn't find anything particularly useful in his story."

Hanji moved her chair towards Eren and gazed into his eyes.

"Eren, I need you to remember. Is there something that you've forgotten to tell us? Something which we would find useful?"

Eren thought for a while. Then his eyes lit up. "Well, We did notice that the crystalline part of Annie's body didn't disintegrate like the rest of it. It remained in the same state. I.. I think you said that if I could harness that ability, We could use it to plug the breach and plug Wall Mar-"

Hanji shot out of her seat. "Why didn't I think of that before! I'm a genius! Uh... the other 'Me' that is.."

She giggled nervously.

Levi didn't share her enthusiasm. "What makes you think that this brat can do that? Because I didn't see him using that ability while fighting the other titan. And the other wimpy brat probably can't do it either."

"That's not the point! We finally have something to go over, something we can focus on. And we have two titan shifters. We'll be able to learn so much from them. It will be fascinating to observe how the two of them interact with each other. We now have an endless list of possibilities. I'm sure we'll figure things out."

Mikasa and Levi stood up.

Eren looked at them nervously. "So uh.. now that I've told you everything, are you going to put me in that room again?"

"Yep" said Mikasa. Then she saw the look on his face. "Nah... just kidding. You can come with me for now."

Eren was relieved.

The four of them walked out.

"Shit." Levi swore. "I have to tell Erwin about all of this."

"There's no need." Hanji replied. "I'll tell him myself."

Levi would have been grateful, but he noticed that Hanji was shaking with excitement.

 _'Four eyes probably wants to ask Erwin about conducting tests with the two titan-shifter brats.'_

So Hanji stayed back while the three of them walked away.

Eren looked at the other two. He felt happy. He was finally going to meet his friends once again. He didn't really care about the fact that they would probably be furious with him. He was confident that he could make things up to them.

 _'Thanks Armin... You understood me better than I did. Wherever you are, I just hope you're alright.'_

And then his knees buckled underneath him. He fell to the ground.

 _'Shit!'_ He swore. _'What's happening to me!'_

He fell to the ground.

Mikasa groaned.

"What's the matter with him now?"

Levi looked a bit amused.

"You didn't notice? When I visited him, I saw a lot of food lying on the table- untouched. The kid hasn't eaten anything since he got in to that room."

Mikasa was stunned. She hadn't noticed it, probably because she had been so angry with Eren.

"He didn't eat anything! Is he stupid?"

Levi shrugged. "Maybe the brat wasn't hungry."

He sighed and lugged Eren over his shoulder.

Mikasa couldn't help smiling. "You seem to have taken a liking to him haven't you?"

Levi scowled at her. "Of course not. But you could say that I'm repaying a debt. After all, he did help save our lives back then. Oh... and if you tell anyone, I'll kill you."

Mikasa frowned. When Levi made threats like this, it was hard to guess if he was joking or not.

"Do you really think he did all that? Jumping into a Titan's mouth to save Armin and attacking the collossal Titan head on?" She asked him.

Levi nodded. "Yes, I do. Ever since I've met him, he struck me as someone who's trying to get himself killed. "

Mikasa sighed. "Doesn't he remind you of _that_ person?"

A pause.

"The person who's obsessed with our blood line?"

Mikasa nodded.

"They resemble each other, but their way of thinking differs drastically."

Mikasa closed her eyes, remembering things which she didn't want to.

"You did the right thing by not killing that man." Levi muttered.

Mikasa was caught off guard. Levi had a powerful intuition, and he often gave her the feeling that he could read her mind.

He looked up at the sky and clenched his fists.

"Wherever he is, I'm sure the bastard's suffering for what he did." He promised.

* * *

Roy lay awake in his bed.

He held his head in his hands, trembling.

 _'I don't know what's right or what's wrong anymore. What will it take for me to find the truth?'_

And his head was filled with memories. Survey Corps, the Police...

..and the Blue Titans.

* * *

 **Whew! Thank god that's over. (I know, I know. I say the same thing after every chapter.)**

 **But I found this chapter especially difficult because... well, I was dealing with such a delicate idea. I hope that I've been able to portray it in an appropriate manner.**


	19. Back to normal?

**Chapter-19**

 **Back to normal?**

 **Note: I do not own any of these characters**

* * *

The rest of the squad members gaped as Mikasa burst into their quarters, dragging Eren along with her.

Sasha gasped.

"What happened to him?" She cried out.

"Nothing serious" Mikasa replied casually. "Just get something for him to eat."

Joe looked at Connie. "You get it."

Connie shook his head violently. "I did it last time!"

"No you didn't!"

"Yes I did!"

Mikasa coughed purposefully.

Joe got the message. He laughed nervously. "Oh yeah, of course! I'll do it right away!"

He ran into the kitchen and returned a minute later with a bowl of steaming-hot rice . He gracefully skidded across the room and placed the bowl in the center of the table.

"Tada!" He exclaimed. "How's that for quick service?"

Mikasa ignored him. She turned towards Eren and scratched her head.

"How do we wake him up, now?" She wondered aloud.

Jean grinned evilly. "You could hit him on his head."

Mikasa seemed alright with that.

But Armin intervened. "Mikasa, you can't be serious! That's not how you wake a person up."

Mikasa scowled. "Do you have any other ideas?"

"We could uh... sprinkle water on his face." he suggested.

Jean leapt up, rushed to the bathroom and appeared with a large bucket, ready to dump the contents on Eren.

Joe pulled him back.

"Calm down! I don't think that's going to work." He warned Jean.

Connie noticed Sasha inching towards the bowl.

He valiantly pounced on her, knocking her to the ground.

"Somebody help me!" He screamed as he tried to restrain her

And all hell broke loose.

"W.. We could just wait for him to wake up, couldn't we?" Krista suggested timidly, but no one was listening to her.

* * *

Eren slowly opened his eyes. He felt drowsy, and could barely make out the shapes of several people who seemed to be bickering and fighting with each other.

 _'Man! I didn't realize how hungry I was."_ He thought.

Ryan sat next to him, nervously biting his nails. When he noticed that Eren was awake, his eyes widened.

Eren blinked as he slowly started registering the commotion in the surroundings.

"Wh- What's going on?" He asked Ryan.

Ryan shrugged. "Can't say I have a clue. But it'll take some time for them to settle down. If you want, you can start eating." He pointed towards the bowl in the center.

Eren's stomach growled and all other thoughts were pushed out of his head.

He slowly crawled towards the bowl, oblivious to the ensuing chaos. He ducked under the bucket which Jean and Joe were fighting for, stepped over Connie and Sasha, who were still on the ground, and finally reached the table. He started shoveling rice into his mouth, and chewed slowly.

 _'This tastes awesome, even though it's just plain rice.'_

He swallowed.

 _'I wonder what's bothering them.'_

But at the moment, he was a slave to his appetite and nothing else mattered.

Joe managed to pull the bucket away from Jean, only to accidentally bang Mikasa in the face with his elbow in the process. She took a deep breath and started shaking with anger. She walked up to him, ready to deliver a punch. At the same time, Jean stepped forward, determined to snatch the bucket back.

Eren took another mouthful while watching the whole sequence unfold.

Joe spotted Mikasa, yelped and ducked just in time, so that Mikasa's punch hit Jean instead, sending him flying towards Eren.

Eren pulled the bowl away just in time as Jean landed with a thud on the table.

And that's when everyone noticed that Eren was, in fact, awake. They gazed at him in astonishment.

Eren brought his spoon to his mouth and helped himself once again, thus finishing the rice.

Now that his stomach was full, he was able to focus on his surroundings. And something didn't seem right. Why had everyone suddenly become so quiet?

He looked around him.

"What exactly is going on here?" He demanded.

Jean sat up and rubbed his face. "Oh, nothing much. We were just busy worrying about you, WHILE YOU DECIDED TO START STUFFING YOUR FACE!"

Eren winced. _'So that's what happened.'_

He looked at all of them. They seemed annoyed, but not particularly angry with him.

"Uhh.. sorry." He muttered.

Jean seemed satisfied. He got off the table.

Eren was showered with a barrage of questions. The group seemed to be extremely concerned about his condition and they wanted to make sure that he waas alright.

Mikasa clapped her hands together, restoring order in the room.

"Ok guys, you can talk to him in the morning. Right now, it's discussion time!"

Joe and Connie groaned.

"There she goes again" Connie whispered

"Be careful, she might hear you." Joe warned him.

Everyone sat around the table as Mikasa tried to explain the situation.

"First of all" She began. "We've confirmed that Eren is in fact a titan-shifter from another universe."

There was a unanimous cheer from the squad members.

"... and He's going to be helping the survey corps from now on. He's going to be working side-by-side with Ryan. And Hanji is probably going to be running all sorts of bizarre tests on them. Meanwhile, We've got another event to look forward too."

Connie scratched his head. "What sort of event are you talking about?"

"We're going to visit a school in the Stohess district and talk to the students about our various duties as members of the Survey Corps." She replied stoically.

All the members reacted to the news in a different way. Connie, Sasha and Jean seemed to find the idea absurd and started protesting immediately, but Krista was absolutely delighted.

"Wow!" She shrieked. "That would be wonderful!"

Mikasa nodded, though she didn't seem particularly excited.

Eren sighed.

 _'Man! Sometimes I wonder if these people actually feel serious about their duties. I mean.. they always act like they're on a holiday or something.'_

But when he voiced his opinion, the rest of them started yelling at him.

"Stop acting like you're some sort of tragic hero, just because you can transform into a titan and stuff!" Jean shouted.

"But I thought you didn't want to go either!" Eren shot back.

"Of course I don't, but I can't stand it when someone tries to show off !"

Eren rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right."

Mikasa cleared her throat.

"And there's one more thing..." She continued, her voice lowering to a whisper, so everyone had to lean forward to hear her.

"..If anyone does something funny, like what happened last time.."

She cracked her knuckles, her eyes falling on Joe.

"..I'll make sure you'll regret it." She finished.

Joe stared innocently at the table.

No one spoke for a while.

Then Mikasa sighed...

"Everyone, It's time to go to bed. We've got work to do tomorrow."

And they dispersed.

* * *

Eren rubbed his head. Things had seemed a bit weird when he had returned. He had expected them to shout at him or at least be upset about him lying to them, but they were acting like nothing was wrong. He had also wanted to talk with Armin in private regarding their 'Mutual Problem', but they hadn't gotten anytime together.

Still, Eren wasn't particularly bothered. He had faith in 'his' Armin. They'd been through a lot together and Eren trusted him with his life.

A voice jolted him out of his thoughts.

"Can't sleep either huh?"

Eren turned to see Connie lying in his bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

He nodded. "Yeah..."

And before he could control himself, he blurted out.

"It just seems strange that no one here mentioned anything about me lying to them. I mean... I expected all of them to treat me like some sort of a stranger or something."

Connie snorted. "We were a bit disappointed, but Armin and Ryan explained the whole affair. I must say one thing though. It was very brave of you to handle such a huge burden on your own. And despite what the other people think, I believe that you're the reason Ryan and the rest of our squad is safe. Besides you're one of us now. We can't simply hate you."

Eren smiled. He felt relieved. They didn't blame him after all.

"But..." Connie continued. "That doesn't mean that they're going to welcome you with open arms. You need to convince them that they can trust you."

Eren nodded.

"So, what does it feel like?" Connie quipped.

"What?"

"Your titan-form. What do you feel when you're inside it?"

Eren shrugged.

"I'm not sure... but it isn't a pleasant feeling. It's like I want to destroy everything around me. And the rage... It makes me lose control."

Connie nodded. "A- And Annie?"

Eren bit his lip.

Connie realized that he'd said the wrong thing.

"I'm sorry" He apologized. "It's just ... tough you know. When I joined the Survey Corps, I thought that our only enemies were Titans. But.."

His voice cracked.

"Well, if she ever escapes from that crystal thing, We'd have to kill her. There's no going back to our trainee days- when the closest thing we had to an enemy was Keith Shadis."

Eren snorted. "Yeah, he was kind of scary."

Connie looked at him. "That's right! You must have met him in your world too!"

Eren nodded. "He was really creepy. I remember that time when we first saw him."

Connie was interested. "Go on.. " He said.

"Well... he shouted at us, a lot. And he caught Sasha eating a potato."

Connie gulped.

"What happened next?" He asked.

"She offered him a bite."

Connie burst into laughter. A half-asleep Joe muttered some curses before he turned over.

The two of them were lost in their thoughts.

"It's weird isn't it." Connie whispered. "We don't know anything about you, but you know us so well. Maybe it isn't such a bad deal for you. I mean, our worlds are so similar. Maybe things could go back to normal."

"No..not really." Eren replied.

Connie turned towards him, frowning a bit. "Why?"

Eren buried his hands in his face- something which Connie found strange.

"I'm a failure" He muttered. "I managed to save a whole bunch of people, but I was too late to save the one who was closest to me. "

Connie was taken aback. "Who are you talking about?"

Eren looked like he wanted to punch himself.

"It's nothing." He said. "Drop it."

"B-But"

"I said drop it."

He and Connie didn't speak after that.

* * *

A few meters away from them Mikasa lay awake. She hadn't slept either, probably because she was afraid she'd have nightmares about her past.

 _'I wonder what he's hiding. Who is this person he wasn't able to save..."_

She could relate to him. After all, She'd failed to protect her family when they needed her the most and there wasn't a single second when she didn't regret that.

 _'The world is a cruel place. And we aren't strong enough to protect everyone. That's why we need to be able to make a choice when the time comes. Even if it breaks us."  
_

When she was small, she had believed in the greater good which supposedly resided within every person's soul. But the murder of her parents had changed things completely. She knew the truth now. There was no greater good. Just people fighting for their lives and for the lives of the people they cared about.

But sometimes, she wished that the world was different.

She gritted her teeth. Why was she thinking about these things? They weren't going to help her.

She cleared her mind and buried her head in her pillow.


	20. Christmas special! Part-1

**Chapter-20:**

 **Note: I do not own any of the characters in this story.**

 **Review section:**

 **To Phoenix:** Yeah, about that... It's not that easy to explain. Rest assured though. I haven't forgotten it. It's just that you're question may remain unanswered for some time so you'll have to be patient. And yeah, Eren was talking about Mikasa. He feels guilty because he thinks it's his fault that Mikasa ended up like this. (Though it's entirely irrational as he couldn't possibly have done anything to help her since he wasn't even there in the first place.)

 **To Z:** Thanks, glad that you like it. About that shipping thing... I think I'll have to go with it (Even though I don't particularly like that sort of stuff and probably suck at writing them.) because well... there doesn't seem to be another way out.

* * *

 _Kill or be killed. That's what Mikasa had learned over the two months she had spent under her captor._

 _She circled around her opponent. He was slightly younger than her and he looked frightened. When they had pushed him into the cage to face her, he had fought against them desperately, begging them to let him out. He'd seen what she had done to the previous fighter and he didn't want the same thing to happen to him.  
_

 _Mikasa pitied him. But she had no choice. Only one of them could survive and if he couldn't save himself, it was his own fault._

 _She didn't know much about him. Only that his last name was Ackerman too and that he was one of the other unlucky souls who had been captured and sentenced to a life of despair the moment he had entered this desolate hell-hole._

 _Mikasa had seen it all here. She'd seen a group of killers take out her parents and capture her with the intent of selling her as a slave. When Mikasa had watched them being gunned down by a group of hired mercenaries in turn, she hadn't felt the slightest bit of pity for them. She had even childishly hoped that these mercenaries would save her, may be set her free, or at the very least... kill her so that her suffering would end. But then, she had ended up being here- in the heart of the underground. And she'd met him- the tormentor who was feared by many and known by very few._

 _She had seen him so many times over the past few months, but still knew very little about him._

 _They called him the 'Prince' though Mikasa was certain that it wasn't because he had royal blood in his veins._

 _And no one questioned his authority. Even though he was just a teenager, a few years elder to Mikasa.  
_

 _Something Mikasa had a hard time comprehending was why this man was obsessed with people having 'Ackerman' in their surname. To her, it had seemed to be a trivial matter at first. But she had soon realized the truth._

 _There was something special about their blood, something which apparently made them 'better' than the rest. And this man wanted to find out what this thing was, this thing which made them stand out so much._

 _At first, Mikasa had seen several people like her here, imprisoned together with no place to go to. So many so, that she had a hard time believing that they were all distantly related to her. But as time passed, the numbers had decreased exponentially. And now there were only a few of them left._

 _The Prince was ruthless. He didn't care about the casualties as long as he got what he wanted.  
_

 _Mikasa pushed the thoughts away. She needed to concentrate on the fight._

 _Her opponent gave one last fleeting glance towards the dozens of people who bore witness to their fight, before realizing that there was no way out for him. That beating her was the only way he would survive._

 _He brought his hands in front of him, and spread his legs apart._

 _The corner of Mikasa's mouth twitched. Mixed feelings boiled inside her. A part of her felt bad for him and another part found him amusing._

 _Mikasa never used a battle stance while fighting. Using one would make her opponents feel that she was wary of them, afraid of what they were capable of._

 _And that would make her lose the edge in battle._

 _She walked towards the boy slowly. He didn't react, but let her approach._

 _They were just a few meters away from each other now and the boy had already closed his eyes, his resolve crumbling ._

 _He braced himself for impact, for the pain which was about to follow. He could feel her inching closer and closer._

 _But all he received was a light tap on his nose. Surprised, he opened his eyes._

 _And then came the pain._

 _Mikasa didn't hold back. Her movements were flawless and her attacks deadly. A few hits were all it took to bring the boy to his knees.  
_

 _But if she thought he was beaten, she was wrong. As she walked towards the boy, he placed his hands on the ground for leverage and kicked her in the stomach._

 _He must have been much stronger than he looked, because the kick sent her flying back a few meters._

 _There was a cheer from the audience._

 _She touched the spot where the kick had landed and winced. She shouldn't have let her guard down so easily. It wouldn't happen a second time._

 _The boy charged towards her. Mikasa waited._

 _She counted. 'one...two...three!'_

 _She moved forward with blinding speed and placed one hand on his chest. Then she took another step, lifting him off the ground and then slamming him downwards._

 _The audience cheered even louder._

 _Mikasa looked around and her eyes met the Prince's. He nodded and gave the thumbs-down signal._

 _In these sorts of fights just winning wasn't enough. You had to beat and humiliate your opponent so badly that he wished he was dead.  
_

 _It was time to finish the job._

 _Mikasa raised her fist, ready to strike. But then she hesitated._

 _Several people yelled at her, demanding that she avoid wasting their precious time._

 _"Get on with it." The boy whispered.  
_

 _Mikasa closed her eyes, thinking carefully about what needed to be done._

 _"Finish it!" The boy yelled.  
_

 _And Mikasa's resolve hardened as she brought her fist down._

 _The boy grimaced. But he didn't feel anything. How could that be possible?_

 _He could hear the audience howling, but he was confused. What had happened?_

 _He blinked and spotted her fist, an inch away from his face._

 _He opened his mouth and closed it again, completely bewildered._

 _Mikasa stood up and offered a hand to him._

 _"What's your name?" She asked him._

 _He stared at her, eyes nearly popping out of his skull._

 _"What is your name?" She repeated a bit louder._

 _"Ed-Edward" He blurted out. He took her hand and she helped him up._

 _Mikasa turned to see the Prince glaring at them furiously, His scar rippling horribly against his face._

 _"Now what?" Edward asked her._

 _"Now... we're in trouble" Mikasa replied._

* * *

 _Mikasa and Edward where pushed in to the cell by the two henchmen.  
_

 _The Prince peered at them through the bars._

 _"Bah... " He muttered. "You've become soft, Mikasa. I'm disappointed in you. Lets see how long your 'friendship' with this fool lasts."_

 _He turned on his heel and walked away, followed by the two henchmen._

 _Mikasa didn't care. She was tired of hurting people for no reason.  
_

 _Edward walked towards her._

 _"Uh...Mikasa?"_

 _She turned to him._

 _"What is it?" She growled._

 _"I.. I just wanted to thank you, for uhh... not hurting me. I really appreciate it."_

 _"Forget it. I won't be able to help you a second time."_

 _"I know. But I'm grateful."_

 _Mikasa didn't respond. She had just heard some footsteps nearby and she was curious about who they belonged to._

 _She crept towards the bar while remaining hidden in the shadows._

 _And she spotted a figure lurking near the prison door._

 _Immediately, her hands shot out and grabbed the person by his shirt, lifting him up.  
_

 _The person yelped and dropped a tray he was holding._

 _Mikasa frowned. She hadn't expected him to be so small.  
_

 _Edward crawled forward. "I'll be damned..."_

 _Mikasa glanced at him. "You know this person?"_

 _Edward nodded. 'He's that creep's brother.'_

 _Some of the other prisoners who had remained silent till then and started muttering._

 _"I never knew the Prince had a brother."_

 _"They're related but, I've heard that he's treated horribly."_

 _"Poor kid's parents died when he was young and now he's stuck with him."_

 _Mikasa turned to the kid. He was very young, maybe around five or six years old. And he was trembling.  
_

 _Mikasa released him. He dropped down and scrambled away to the opposite wall.  
_

 _"What's your name?" She asked him._

 _The boy didn't answer. He just stared at them._

 _Mikasa stretched a hand towards him._

 _"We're not going to hurt you." She told him gently._

 _Slowly, the boy moved closer. He stared at Mikasa for a second before placing both his hands on her palm.  
_

 _"I'm-I'm Ronnie." He whispered._

 _"Ronnie... that's a beautiful name."_

 _Ronnie smiled tentatively._

 _And before, Mikasa could stop herself, she embraced him._

 _For a moment, the boy forgot how to breath. He stood there, taking it all in and forgetting about everything else.  
_

 _Mikasa sighed. She wondered when was the last time someone had hugged him. Because she was sure that his elder brother wasn't the caring type._

 _She could relate to him. She'd lost her parents too. And she knew how it felt, like there was nothing left for you in the world._

 _She had just met him, but still she wanted to give him some warmth, let him know that he was safe._

 _She broke away. The boy stood there with his eyes closed._

 _One of the other prisoners stepped forward and ruffled Ronnie's hair._

 _"Why are you here, kid?" He asked him._

 _Ronnie took a deep breath._

 _"I- I brought you cookies." He muttered._

 _Mikasa knitted her eyebrows. "What?"_

 _Edward pulled the tray inside.  
_


	21. Christmas special! Part-2

**Chapter-21:**

 **Christmas special!**

 **Part-2**

 **Note: I do not own any of the characters in this story.**

 **WARNING: SPOILERS FROM THE MANGA!**

 **Please note that the following events are not actually a canon part of the story AOT revolution, which in turn isn't canon to the Attack on Titan anime. Basically, it's alright for you to forget this chapter once you've read it completely.**

* * *

Eren stared at the short, but powerfully built man.

 _'Levi?'_

Jean-2 gazed at the other figure who stood behind Levi-1. For some reason, this figure seemed extraordinarily familiar. In fact, Jean-2 could have sworn he'd seen it several times before. In the mirror.

The person walked up to him and delivered a full-fledged uppercut to Jean-2's chin, knocking him out.

Normally, in a situation like this, Mikasa would have been furious. She would have proceeded to attack the person who was responsible for this whole mess.

But somehow, She could only continue to stare at the two newcomers, her mouth wide open.

"Fool! Why did you have to punch yourself!" Levi-1 yelled at him.

Jean-1 growled. "I'm sorry, but he was giving me a bad name, losing to that bastard over there..."

He stared daggers at Eren.

Eren's eyes widened. He pushed Mikasa off him and dashed towards Jean-2.

"You know me?" He asked him.

Jean-1 snorted. "Of course I do, idiot!"

Eren turned to Levi-1."So that means that you..."

Levi-1 rolled his eyes. "Obviously, shitty brat."

Eren was so relieved, he felt his heart was going to leap out of his chest.

He turned to Jean-1. His eyes were sparkling.

"Jean..." He muttered.

Jean-1 was smiling too.

"Eren..." He whispered.

They stepped forward, as if to embrace each other.

The next moment, they were wrestling on the ground.

"You assh*le! Why don't you just do us all a favor and die already!" Jean-1 roared.

"Shut up, horse face! If I die, I'll be sure to take you with me!" Eren yelled back.

Levi-1 sweat-dropped.

 _'Somebody shoot me in the head please."_ He prayed.

Mikasa who'd been gaping at the three of them till now, finally found her voice.

"What... is... WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!" She screamed.

There was silence. Everyone stared at Mikasa's red, angry face.

Levi-1 shrugged. "I should be asking you the same question, Ackerman."

The statement had the desired effect.

Mikasa blinked. "What?"

Levi-1 walked into the center of the room, followed by Jean-1 (who was still lugging the gunny bag with him).

He took a deep breath.

"Alright, shitty brats. Listen to me _carefully_. Because I won't be able to repeat this again. I'm going to be pointing out all the things which are wrong with the people in this room, one by one."

Everyone stared at him.

Levi-1 exhaled. "Here goes."

He pointed to Mikasa. "First of all, Ackerman, you _kicked_ Eren in his stomach."

Mikasa remained stoic. "So what? I'm the leader of this squad. I can do whatever I want."

Levi shook his head. "Wrong, Ackerman. First off, I'm the leader of this squad. Not _you._ Secondly, you're supposed to be fawning over Eren. You're supposed to act like you're a faithful puppy and keep following him everywhere. And you're not supposed to be hitting him. "

Mikasa was flabbergasted. "Wha.. What are you talking about! Are you crazy!"

Eren's face turned red. "uh.. Captain Levi?"

"Shut up, Eren!" Levi-1 yelled.

He turned to Krista. "And you, crybaby. Your real name is Historia. Your father was a deranged noble who had your mom killed, and then abandoned you, only to find you later on and claim that he was actually worried about you the whole time. He then proceeded to ask you to use a killer serum which would transform you into a nasty titan and then eat this guy."

He pointed to Eren, who frowned.

Jean-1 butted in. "But you didn't use the killer serum and tried to save Eren instead, so you're dad, being the sore loser that he is, went and consumed the serum in the most disgusting way possible, transforming into a super huge titan which tried to take down Wall Rose, only to get killed in the process, resulting in one of the most epic fails in Shingeki No Kyojin history."

He paused, gasping for breath.

"And yeah..." Levi-1 added. "You also became the queen of this place."

Krista's eyes were popping out of her sockets.

"Are you guys... feeling alright?" She asked them tentatively. "I mean... we all say weird stuff when we're not in our right mi-"

"Never felt better." Jean-1 shot back.

Eren seemed very nervous now.

"But... but Levi-"

"Not now, Eren." Levi-1 cut him off.

He and Jean-1 turned to Reiner and Bertolt who stared back at them.

"And as for you guys..." Levi-1 whispered, as he and Jean-1 unsheathed their swords. ".. You're the Armored and Colossal Titans!"

The whole room erupted into chaos. People started yelling random stuff."

Jean-1 slammed his baseball bat into the ground. "Order!"

The people stopped yelling.

Reiner smirked. "What are you talking about. You have no evidence against us. There's no way these people are gonna listen to your false accusations. I mean.. we're not guilty."

"WAAAH!" Bertolt cried. "They've found out who we are! Now they're gonna kill us."

"Shut up, Bertolt!" Reiner hissed.

"BOOHOO! I want my mommy!"

"I understand, Bertolt, but please get a hang of yourself!"

"They know we're the titans. There's nothing we can do!"

Reiner face turned a dark shade of purple. His hands were shaking with suppressed fury.

He made a deep rumbling noise in his throat.

"Great going, Bertolt! We could have escaped before something bad happened, but no! You had to blurt out everything and give them a spontaneous confession. You're the most useless person I've ever known. You're so useless, that I'd rather have a frying pan as my best friend! You're-"

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere else.

Levi-2 glared at his pathetic team.

"So brats, what's today's lesson?"

Petra looked like she was about to faint. Her legs threatened to give way as she leaned against her broom.

But her plight was nothing compared to that of the guys on the team.

She could barely recognize Oluo and Gunther because of the number of bruises they had on their face.

And Eld looked like someone had used _his face_ to mop the floor (which was exactly the case here.)

"Never forget to clean the house" They all droned together.

Levi-2 scoffed. "This must not happen again."

He walked around them, inspecting his squad.

"And Petra..."

Petra gulped. "Yes, Sir?"

Levi walked up to her and pushed her chin up,with the tip of his broom, forcing her to look him in the eyes.

"Do something about your hair."

Petra frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

"Your hair looks disgusting. Do something about it."

* * *

"...You're like a matchstick without a head, like a bomb without a fuse. You're...you're"

"As useless as Jean?" Connie offered.

"Yeah, as useless as Jean." Reiner finished.

Bertolt blinked. He hadn't expected Reiner to get so angry. Maybe it was finally time for him to become serious.

He walked up to Levi.

"You may have found out about us. But you'll never know about _her_. The third shifter. She's the most dangerous of the lot. And she can annihilate you. She lurks in the shadows and she's everywhere. So arrest us, capture us. Send us to our deaths. But when the time comes, _she will have her vengeance_."

Jean-1 looked at Levi-1.

"Oh no, Levi!" What are we going to do?"

"I don't know." Levi-1 replied in a falsetto voice. "How can we _possibly_ face this horrible titan. I mean she could kill us without even raising her finger."

Jean-1 scratched his head and then snapped his fingers.

"Yeah, but wait! I know what to do! We'll use magic!"

Reiner knitted his eyebrows.

"You'll use... magic?"

Jean-1 nodded. He pointed his finger at the gunny bag.

"Now folks! When we all utter the magic words 'Jean's our uncle' , Voila! the third titan shifter will appear in this bag."

Reiner snorted. "There's no way we're gonna say that."

Jean-1 shrugged. "Alright, but that means you're admitting that you're scared and truly fear my power."

Reiner wanted to argue, but Bertolt placed a hand on his shoulder.

"They're bluffing. Don't worry."

Reiner sighed. "Alright. We'll say it."

Jean-1 turned to the others. "You guys have to say it too."

Mikasa didn't react at all. Sasha was more interested in her cookies than the fact that her comrades were blood-thirsty titan shifters. Ryan looked like he wanted to puke. Christa was still trying to process what Levi-1 and Jean-1 had told her. And Joe and Connie were currently playing a game of chess.

Jean-1 was depressed.

Levi-1 clicked his tongue in disgust. "Brat, I must say... You suck."

Jean-1 walked to a corner and started banging his head on the wall.

Suddenly, the bag started wriggling again.

Irritated, Levi-1 finally pulled his sword out, cutting open the bag.

And to Reiner and Bertolt's utmost horror, the person who toppled out of it was none other than Annie, bound from head to toe.

The next second, the two of them had joined Jean-1 and were banging their heads into the walls.

Mikasa stared at Annie and then at Levi-1 and Jean-1.

She rushed to Annie and released her from her bonds.

Annie rubbed her wrists.

"Whew..That was _not_ fun."

She glanced at all the others in the room. Then she snarled.

"If I found out who did this to me, _I'm going to kill him._ "

Both She and Mikasa stared evilly at the trio from our world.

"Listen up, Levi. I don't know why you're acting strange today, but you've done it now. Putting Annie in a gunny bag, using weird psychic techniques to fool Reiner and Bertolt into thinking that they're titan shifters, trying to distract us by saying disturbing things... You've crossed your limits today."

She and Annie both looked furious. And even Reiner and Bertolt seemed to have recovered from their shock.

"Yeah..." Reiner said weakly. "They totally used their psychic techniques on us."

"WAIT!" Eren yelled.

Everyone stopped talking.

Eren turned to Levi-1. "Uh.. Captain, I don't know if you've realized this, but we're in... another universe."

Levi-1 stared at him.

"What?"

"They're all acting differently because we're in a different universe. They're not the same guys as the ones we know."

Jean-1 marched towards him.

"Why didn't you tell us before!" He yelled.

"I tried, but you guys were so busy showing off that you didn't even bother!" Eren retorted.

"Still, All that pain I went through to bonk Annie on the head was for nothing! Can you imagine how it feels!"

Eren winced. "Why did you have to say that?"

Jean-1 suddenly became aware of a pair of blue eyes which were staring at him and projecting immense hatred and fury.

" _You_ hit me on my head?" Annie growled.

Jean-1 laughed nervously. "Well that's ok, because teammates uh... forgive each other, right?"

There was no response.

Eren and Jean-1 huddled together, shivering from head to toe as the two girls slowly advanced.

"Y-you know.." Eren whispered. "When I was s-small, I always t-thought that g-girls w-were usually the g-gentle type, who s-smiled all the time and never hurt anyone."

"I u-understand E-Eren." Jean replied, trembling. "B-But d-don't worry. Captain L-Levi will p-protect us."

Levi was having deep, insightful thoughts in his head.

 _'Hmm... So the people I saw weren't ghosts. And that's also why there were two brats. That's a relief.'_

He exhaled.

"Alright... here's the plan. We'll begin with a tactical retreat, to strengthen our formation and then stabilize our momentum by moving further away from the front lines."

He coolly walked out of the house.

Jean-1 and Eren blinked.

"He's telling you to run." Annie explained.

Jean-1 and Eren blinked again.

"Get going" Mikasa ordered them, an evil smile on her face. "The door is that way."

She frowned. Eren and Jean-1 had disappeared.

"I.. I didn't expect them to be that fast" She muttered.

Annie nodded.

The next second they were outside, running at top speed and screaming bloody murder.

* * *

Levi-2 was walking confidently, his beloved broom by his side, while the rest of his squad followed him.

He turned around and scowled.

"Hurry up, brats!"

The squad groaned. The day had not been a particularly memorable one for them and they were seriously regretting their follies.

But then, when it seemed like nothing else was going to happen, The ground suddenly started trembling.

Eld gulped. What else lay in store for them?

And suddenly, somebody zipped past them. He stopped only to admire Levi-2's broom.

"That's a beautiful specimen." He murmured. "I think I'll take it."

And just like that he was gone.

The whole squad gaped at him. _'Was that Levi?"_

Levi-2 frowned. He stared at his hand and it took him some time to realize that his broom was no longer with him. His frown turned to a look of pure rage.

"I'll-"

He was knocked down by Eren and Jean-1 who fled past him.

He pushed himself up and growled.

"Who-"

This time, Mikasa, Annie, Reiner and Bertolt went over him.

Levi-2 lay on the ground, his whole body badly bruised from the ordeal.

The skin near his eyes darkened, giving him a menacing appearance.

' _How dare they..'_

He yelled at the top of his lungs and charged behind them.

The special operations squad sighed and followed suit.

* * *

Eren glanced back.

 _'Great!'_ He thought. 'N _ow the whole army wants to kill us.'_

He looked forward and skidded to a halt. And he knew that they were all in trouble. Because they had now come to a dead-end.

The wall loomed over them, dwarfing them in comparison. And their assailants were closing in on.

But, as if by magic, a portal appeared behind them. A blue,shiny, portal. And out popped the strangest hero ever.

Santa.

* * *

 **A few minutes ago...  
**

 **The omnipotent being who had started this whole mess had been severely reprimanded by his superiors for interfering with the continuum of the AOT universe and had been threatened with the worst punishment of all- a whole day without lunch breaks. Anxious to redeem himself, this great being had decided to bring things back to normal by sending his greatest soldier and using one of the greatest plot devices in fiction- Portals. And not just any portal. Round, shiny, blue portals which smelled like chocolate-chip cookies.**

* * *

Santa smiled. "Merry Christmas, children!"

None of the 'children' seemed particularly happy.

"Get out of the way or I'll slaughter you,old man!" Mikasa yelled.

"And I want my broom!" Levi-2 added.

Santa tried to calm them down. It didn't work.

He frowned.

"Now, now children. You don't want to end up on my bad kids list." He wheezed.

"Hah!" Reiner spat. "What are you gonna do old guy, steal our cookies?"

Santa sighed. He hated noisy children, children who spoiled everything, children who disrespected Christmas.

And most of all, he hated people who called him old.

He caught hold of his wig and his fake beard and pulled them off.

And that shut them all up.

He was none other than Keith Shadis.

And _no one_ dared oppose him.

Everyone kept mum.

"So..." Jean-1 croaked. "This is the guy who gave us our presents for all those years?"

"There go my dreams of meeting Santa." Eren whimpered.

Keith Shadis was satisfied.

"Now, let's not make things complicated. I'll just take back all of these darlings here and then I'll be gone. If you don't oppose me, I won't kill you."

Mikasa looked like she was going to argue, but Bertolt and Reiner managed to hold her back, while Annie cupped a hand to her mouth.

"Quite idiot! Do you want to die?"

Jean-1 blinked. "Just like that?"

Shadis nodded.

Jean-1 shrugged and went through it.

Levi-1 tried to follow him, but Shadis stepped in front of him.

"Drop the _broom. It isn't yours_ " He growled.

Levi-1 scoffed. "And what if I don't?"

A vein in the instructor's head throbbed violently.

"You want to find out?"

They had a brief staring competition.

Levi-1 sighed. "God damn you."

He tossed the broom to Levi-2, and was about to go through the portal when he stopped himself.

 _'I won't get this chance ever again.'_

He walked past Mikasa and Levi-1, all the way up to Petra, who stood there, staring at him.

"Wh-What's the matter?" She whispered, her legs trembling.

Levi-1 cleared his throat and spoke.

"There's something I always wanted to tell you. And I don't think I'll ever come back here, so..."

He placed his hand behind her back and pulled her close.

Petra's heart was throbbing. She couldn't believe it. This was finally happening.

Her face was an inch away from his. And she could feel his hot, inconsistent breathing.

Bolts of electricity coursed through her body.

She had always thought of Levi as a good-looking guy.

But up close, he was something different. He wasn't simply good looking, he was _handsome._ His black,smooth hair , those grey eyes which held several secrets and that natural aura of elegance... they made him look... special.

Levi-1 moved even closer. Petra shut her eyes.

She was overwhelmed by raw emotion. Overwhelmed by the blissful reality of it all.

The rest of the squad gaped. This was actually happening. Levi-1 was finally showing his deeper, more emotional side.

Petra waited, and waited.

Levi-1 took a deep breath.

"Petra.." He whispered.

"L-Levi.."

"You.."

"You?"

"Your..."

"Your?"

"Damn, just say it captain!" Jean-1 yelled.

Levi-1 steeled his nerves.

"Your... Your hair looks disgusting."

Petra suddenly felt like someone had bonked her on the head.

"What.."

"Your hair looks disgusting. Do something about it."

And with that, Levi-1 turned on his heel and marched into the portal.

 _'I'm glad that I finally have no regrets.'_ He thought to himself.

What happened next, was a group-face palm which was so spontaneous, it would remind a person of a Mexican wave.

Levi-2 grunted appreciatively.

"That man has a good taste."

And finally, it was Eren's chance.

He turned to the rest of them.

"Well.. I guess I'll be going now." he chuckled.

Mikasa stared at him. "Go on.."

Eren rubbed his head.

"Its just that I wanted to tell you... I'll really miss you all. Even though you've treated me horribly, I don't think I'll ever forget you guys. Especially you, Mikasa. I uh.. don't think you know about this, but in my universe, the two of us kinda know each other. Really well. If I had stayed a bit longer, you may have warmed up a bit, even to me, but oh well..."

For some weird reason, Mikasa didn't seem bothered. She looked calm, amused even.

"..and I hope you guys will remember me too." He continued. "So.. um.. all the best with fighting titans and uh... recovering Wall Maria and uh... other stuff in general."

Mikasa was actually smiling. And it wasn't an evil one. A kind, sincere smile.

Eren was feeling extremely uncomfortable. Didn't anyone feel sad that he was leaving?

"Fine.." He choked. "Good luck and... good-bye."

He turned and walked right into the wall.

"Ouch!"

He nursed his smarting head. And then his eyes widened.

 _'Don't tell me..'_

He got up and looked around, searching for the portal.

 _'..they left me here.'_

Eren dropped to the ground, feeling depressed.

 _'So much for my great speech.'_

And then, there was a hand reaching out to him.

He blinked. It was Mikasa, her face shining in the sunlight.

"Get up." She told him.

He took her hand and she pulled him up.

"Those were some pretty sweet things you said back there." She giggled.

Eren blushed. He wouldn't have said any of it if he had known that he would be stuck here. And he definitely hadn't expected her to be so pleased with him.

Levi-2 yawned.

"I guess I've been a B*tch to my squad too."

He walked up to a depressed-looking Petra and threw his arm around her shoulders. Petra looked like she was going to pass out.

He stared at the other members who were gaping at him.

"What's the matter?" He asked them gruffly. "Come on. Lets celebrate Christmas."

Gunther blinked. "But what about the house?"

"Screw the house. We'll deal with it later."

He steered Petra away and the others smiled and followed him. Captain Levi was a human too, after all.

"I guess we should go back." Bertolt suggested.

The others nodded in approval.

Eren sighed. Maybe he was meant to live here for now. His world would have to wait.

He smiled, a bit sadly. He wondered what the people in his world would be doing.

Jean would probably be boasting about how cool and awesome he was. Connie would be fooling around. Sasha would be aiming to sneak away along with the Christmas pudding. And Mikasa, _his_ Mikasa and Armin would probably be wondering where Eren had disappeared.

Eren felt grief well up in his chest. Why was it always him? Why couldn't he get a moment of peace, for once? Was he destined to this sort of fate for eternity?

But as they began the long walk towards their quarters, Eren stared at the person who was pulling him along, her dark hair bouncing over her shoulders, a rare smile upon her lips, her grey eyes regarding him with a new-found warmth and her strong, but delicate hands clasping his own...

And he couldn't help grinning.

Maybe he had gotten his Christmas gift after all.

* * *

Stranger: (Grins) So... how was it?

Writer :(Blinks) Actually it wasn't that bad. Except for the plot holes of course.

Stranger: (Scoffs) Well it's Christmas! We all ought to understand each other!

Writer: (Sighs)Alright, it was good...I guess.

Stranger: (Standing up!) Really! That's great! Now I'll add the mutant Titans and the flying dinosaurs with eye-lasers from Mars!

Writer: (Smiles uncomfortably)Uh.. maybe later.


	22. Memories

**Chapter-22:**

 **Note: I do not own any of the characters in this story.**

 **Review section:**

 **To Phoenix:** Sorry about Armin! I totally forgot about him! And about the pairing thing, You might be right. I still want to give it a try though (Blame those damn fanfictions I've been reading.). However, there's been a major setback, which I will be talking about at the end of the chapter.

 **Hello readers. It's been a long time** **. (No not really, but anyway...). I've been having some issues with the story recently, which I'll be talking about at the end of this chapter. Anyway, here goes!**

* * *

 _Kill or be killed. That's what Mikasa had learned over the two months she had spent under her captor._

 _She circled around her opponent. He was slightly younger than her and he looked frightened. When they had pushed him into the cage to face her, he had fought against them desperately, begging them to let him out. He'd seen what she had done to the previous fighter and he didn't want the same thing to happen to him.  
_

 _Mikasa pitied him. But she had no choice. Only one of them would win and if he couldn't save himself, it was his own fault._

 _She didn't know much about him. Only that his last name was Ackerman too, and that he was one of the other unlucky souls who had been captured and sentenced to a life without hope the moment he had entered this desolate hell-hole._

 _Mikasa had seen it all here. She'd seen a group of killers take out her parents and capture her with the intent of selling her as a slave. Mikasa had watched them being gunned down by a group of hired mercenaries in turn. And somehow, she had ended up being here- in the heart of the underworld. And she'd met him- the tormentor who was feared by many and known by very few._

 _She had seen him so many times over the past few months, but still knew very little about him._

 _They called him the 'Prince' though Mikasa was certain that it wasn't because he had royal blood in his veins._

 _And no one questioned his authority. Even though he was just a teenager, a few years elder to Mikasa.  
_

 _Something Mikasa had a hard time comprehending was why this man was obsessed with people having 'Ackerman' in their surname. To her, it had seemed to be a trivial matter._

 _But she had soon realized the truth._

 _There was something special about their blood, something which apparently made them 'better' than the rest. And this man wanted to find out what this thing was, this thing which made them stand out so much._

 _At first, Mikasa had seen several people like her here, imprisoned together with no place to go to. So many so, that she had a hard time believing that they were all distantly related to her. But as time passed, the numbers had decreased exponentially. And now there were only a few dozens of them left._

 _The Prince was ruthless. He didn't care about the casualties as long as he got what he wanted.  
_

 _Mikasa pushed the thoughts away. She needed to concentrate on the fight._

 _Her opponent gave one last fleeting glance towards the scores of people who bore witness to their fight, before realizing that there was no way out for him. That beating her was the only way he would survive._

 _He tentatively brought his hands in front of him, and spread his legs apart._

 _The corner of Mikasa's mouth twitched. Mixed feelings boiled inside her. A part of her felt bad for him and another part found him amusing._

 _Mikasa never used a battle stance while fighting. Using one would make her opponents feel that she was wary of them, afraid of what they were capable of._

 _And that would make her lose the edge in battle._

 _She walked towards the boy slowly. He didn't react, but let her approach._

 _They were just a few meters away from each other now and the boy had already closed his eyes, his resolve crumbling ._

 _He braced himself for impact, for the pain which was about to follow. He could feel her inching closer and closer._

 _But all he received was a light tap on his nose. Surprised, he opened his eyes._

 _And then came the pain._

 _Mikasa didn't hold back. Her movements were flawless and her attacks deadly. A few hits were all it took to bring the boy to his knees.  
_

 _But if she thought he was beaten, she was wrong._

 _As she walked towards the boy, he placed his hands on the ground for leverage and kicked her in the stomach._

 _He must have been much stronger than he looked, because the kick sent her flying back a few meters._

 _There was a cheer from the audience._

 _She touched the spot where the kick had landed and winced. She shouldn't have let her guard down so easily. It wouldn't happen a second time._

 _The boy charged towards her. Mikasa waited._

 _She counted. 'one...two...three!'_

 _She moved forward with blinding speed and placed one hand on his chest. Then she took another step, lifting him off the ground and then slamming him downwards._

 _The audience cheered even louder._

 _Mikasa looked around and her eyes met the Prince's. He nodded and gave the thumbs-down signal._

 _In these sorts of fights just winning wasn't enough. You had to beat and humiliate your opponent so badly that he wished he was dead.  
_

 _It was time to finish the job._

 _Mikasa poised herself. She sat on his stomach, not giving him any opportunity to fight back.  
_

 _She raised her fist, ready to strike. But then she hesitated._

 _Several people yelled at her, demanding that she avoid wasting their precious time._

 _"Get on with it." The boy whispered.  
_

 _Mikasa closed her eyes, thinking carefully about what needed to be done._

 _"Finish it!" The boy yelled.  
_

 _And Mikasa's resolve hardened as she brought her fist down._

 _The boy grimaced. But he didn't feel anything. How could that be possible?_

 _He could hear the audience howling, but he was confused. What had happened?_

 _He blinked and spotted her fist, an inch away from his face._

 _He opened his mouth and closed it again, completely bewildered._

 _Mikasa stood up and offered a hand to him._

 _"What's your name?" She asked him._

 _He stared at her, eyes nearly popping out of his skull._

 _"What is your name?" She repeated a bit louder._

 _"Ed-Edward" He blurted out. He took her hand and she helped him up._

 _Mikasa turned to see the Prince glaring at them furiously, His scar rippling horribly against his face._

 _"Now what?" Edward asked her._

 _"Now... we're in trouble" Mikasa replied._

* * *

Mikasa shot up and bumped her head into something soft. Someone groaned in pain. Mikasa's reflexes took over as she tried to punch the intruder. The intruder dropped down and crawled away.

"Whoah! Mikasa! You really need to relax!" The person yelled.

Mikasa blinked.

"Oh... it's you."

Joe's tall, thin figure stood next to the window. He was clutching his nose.

"Ouch! That hurt, Mikasa! Why did you have to jump up like that."

Mikasa quickly regained her bearings.

"It's your fault." She told him. "Why were you standing right in front of me?"

"Because I was trying to wake you up! You sleep like a log, you know that?" Joe yelled back.

Mikasa sighed. "Well, it's over now. There's nothing we can do about it."

Joe frowned. "You could have just said sorry, you know."

Mikasa ignored him.

She walked out of the bed-room and Joe followed her.

She stopped and he stopped too.

She started walking again and he followed suit.

She turned back and frowned.

"Do you want something?"

Joe shoved his hands in his pocket.

"Uh... Not really..."

Mikasa glared at him. "Fine, I'm going now."

He didn't say anything. She shrugged and turned around.

"W-wait!"

She glanced at him. "What is it?"

"I was just thinking that... you know, since we've not got any pressing matters to attend to, I could uh..go out for a while?"

Mikasa's scowl softened.

"You want to see your mother, don't you?" She asked him.

Joe blushed. "Um..yes.. I mean no.. I mean ... maybe a little bit."

She knitted her eyebrows. "Really?"

Joe sighed. "Ok, just forget it."

Mikasa punched him playfully on his shoulder. But it still hurt.

"You don't need to be embarrassed, Joe! Everyone worries about their family."

Joe blinked. "So... I can go?"

Mikasa nodded. "But make sure you do your share of the chores when you come back."

Joe's face brightened. "Thanks, Mikasa! You're the best!"

He hugged her hastily, and rushed out of the room.

Mikasa smiled, a bit sadly .

 _'Must be nice.. to have someone who cares about you.'_ She thought before walking out.

* * *

 **The incredibly long Author's Note:**

 **Yeah, I know. This chapter was a bit small. I've been dealing with a lot of stuff recently.  
**

 **At the moment, I'm having trouble with my exams. I'm at a rather testing stage in life. I've got a lot of things on my hands, and I'm finding it difficult to spare time for writing.**

 **Especially for a story like this were the plot needs quite a bit of attention from my side.**

 **Besides, I was going through the story, and I just realized that there were some major plot-holes in it which needed to be fixed.**

 **And the thing is, simply editing chapters won't do. The nature of the errors is such that they can only be fixed by re-writing the story- The whole story.**

 **So what am I trying to say?**

 **I'm saying that I'm going to take a break from writing for some time. And I've already started working on the re-written version, but I'll only be able to start posting chapters sometime next month.**

 **I understand that a lot of you have been enjoying the story so far, and probably feel upset about this. And believe me, I know. I'm not particularly psyched about it either.**

 **If it makes you guys feel better, The re-written version will be based on the same idea, but will be different in many ways. Making it readable even if you've already finished AOT revolution while still following the same idea.** **I've had one hell of a time writing this story and planning out things for future arcs, and I hope you- the readers enjoyed it too. I've also learnt a lot and I hope to use this knowledge for the new-version and other stories of mine in the future. And rest assured. I don't plan on abandoning or deleting this idea. (Hell yeah! I've already put in around 50 thousand words in to this. I can't simply forget it.)  
**

 **I'll probably be posting an authors note, redirecting readers to the new story once I publish the first chapter.**

 **Sigh.. that's all for now.**

 **P.S. : I'd already finished most of this chapter by the time things started getting difficult. Which is why I decided to post it despite the fact that I plan on re-writing the whole thing anyway.**


	23. AUTHORS NOTE:

**AUTHORS NOTE:**

 **Hello readers! I've got some good news! (sort of...). The first chapter for the rewrite is up!** ** **I'm sorry it's taken so long. I was originally planing to finish it some time last month, but well... I had my exams to worry about so there was a massive delay.****

 **Personally, I think that the chapter has come out quite well... Though I'm feeling a bit uncomfortable because I've changed the plot. A lot.  
**

 **The reasons for this were pretty straight forward. There were too many holes to plug up in the original idea and so, I had to give the whole thing a new start, though it will eventually converge with the AOT revolution story-line a few chapters after the female titan arc. And man! It was tough! It involved re-writing a chapter a dozen times(I'm not even exaggerating) and then scrapping it completely.**

 **What am I trying to say? I'm saying that there's a faint chance that the new story may not contain some of the elements you loved about the original one.  
**

 **And I'm truly sorry about that. I tried my best to preserve the original plot, but... it was too much.  
**

 **On the bright side, the new story is so different from the original that there's absolutely no chance of you readers getting bored. And there's a tiny possibility that you might find my writing style a tad better than before:)  
**

 **Here are the details.**

Author: Bradwaj (Obviously)

Title: Thanatos

Rating:T

Category:Shingeki no Kyojin

Main character: Eren Yeager/Mallow Archer (What am I talking about? You'll see!)

 **Yep that's it! Hope to see you guys soon!**


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